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GEOGKAPHY OF SCIENCE 



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GEOGRAPHY OF SCIENCE 



SPECIALLY PREPARED FROM THE TARR AND McMURUY 
SERIES OF GEOGRAPHIES, TO MEET THE REQUIRE- 
MENTS OF THE SEVENTH YEAR IN THE 
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF THE CITY 
OF NEW YORK 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 

1905 

AU righu reserved 



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COPY S. 



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Copyright, 1905, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1905. 



CONTENTS 



Note. — It will be seen that the titles in this table of contenis are taken 
from the oiftcial syllabus for 7". The page numbers show how the require- 
ments can be met from two standpoints, viz. North America and the Eastern 
Hemisphere, notably Europe. 



Mathematical and Physical Geography 

The solar system, 26-37, 121-123 ; relations of the sun and planets, 
122 ; theory of their origin, relations of the sun, moon, and earth, 
26; adaptation of the earth for human habitation, 1, 23-24; the 
sun and inclination of the earth as factors, 31-37, 128-137 ; 
eclipses of the sun and moon, motions of the earth, and conse- 
quent distribution of light, 30-32, 128-137 ; axis, orl)it, poles, 
equator, zones, circles, 29-37, 128-137 ; day and night as modified 
at the different seasons, 34-35, 134; latitude and longitude, 
109-118, 138-144; relations of longitude and time, 114-118, 141 ; 
standard meridians, 113-115; length of a degree of longitude at 
the equator and at the pole, 115 ; determination of longitude 
by variations from a selected standard time, 113-118, 141; 
solar and standard time, llG-118. 

Heat l)elts and wind l)elts, 39-57, 145-160; location and causes, 145- 
160; isothermal lines, land and sea breezes, trade winds, ::ones 
and calms, monsoons and cyclones, 39-57, 145-160; cluinges of 
seasons and causes, 26-37; phenomena of weather, 39-57, 63-74; 
weather charts, barometer, thermometer, 52-57; difference be- 
tween weather and climate, 71-74 ; cause of dew, fog, clouds, 
rain, 39-57, 149 ; distribution of rainfall as related to surface 
features, 50, 148-160; erosion and drainage, 5-8; relation of 
rainfall to the distribution of vegetation, 45-56, 161-171. 

Large topographical areas, 123-125; distribution of land and water, 
124; origin of continents, 1-5; changes by erosion with emi)liasis 

V 



vi CONTENTS 

on glaciation, 5-19; coast line as determined by the addition 
of coastal plains and by sinking of the land, 19-21, 222 ; conti- 
nental and oceanic islands, difference in origin, 123-126, 223 ; 
formation of volcanic and coral islands, 125-127. Ocean move- 
ments : waves, tides, tidal waves, currents, 59-171 ; causes and 
effects, 63-74, 161-171 ; relations to commerce, 76-108, 165-171 ; 
influence of climatic conditions and topographical features on 
plant and animal life, and on the characteristics and activities of 
the people, 76-108, 172-215 ; zones of vegetation, 76-92 ; ranges 
of food plants, 90, 182 ; distribution of animals, 76-92, 172-190 ; 
fauna of the sea, 80, 184; ranges of human habitation, 92-108, 
191-197; conditions favorable to civilization, 198-215. 

North America and Europe 

Study of North America and Europe with special reference to the 
physical features above mentioned- Location, through longitude 
and latitude, and advantages, 21, 34-38, 138-141, 216-230; coast 
line, form, and economic advantages, 19-23, 216-230 ; study of a 
good harbor as a type, 20, 223 ; surface features and causes, 1-12, 
123-127, 216-223; the glacial period, 12-19, 220-222; coal, oil, 
and metal deposits, 1-5, 219; location in wind belts and conse- 
quent distribution of temperature and rainfall, 145-190, 223-230 ; 
influence of climatic conditions and topographical features on 
plant and animal life, and on the distribution, characteristics, 
and activities of the people, 76-108, 172-230 ; comparison of the 
industrial and commercial development of the several countries 
of the two continents. A study of the commerce carried on 
between the United States and the several countries of Europe, 
231-249. 



GEOGRAPHY OF SCIENCE 



Part I 

A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH 
AMERICA 

I. PHYSIOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA 

The Growth of the Continent. — There are about one 
hundred million persons in North America at the present 
time, although a century ago there were scarcely one- 
tenth of that number. This wonderful growth has been 
largely due to the useful and valuable mineral products 
of the earth ; to the soil and climate which have allowed 
many different kinds of plants and animals to thrive ; 
and to the rivers, waterfalls, lakes, and harbors which 
have made manufacturing and shipping easy. 

As it takes time to build a house, and to prepare tlie 
boards from trees, the nails from iron ore, and the bricks 
from clay, so it takes time for the formation of minerals 
and rocks and for the building of a continent. In fact, 
millions of years have been required for that work. 

The story telling how North America was made is a 
very interesting one. It has l)een discovered by a careful 
study of the rocks ; and altliougli tliere arc many cpies- 
ticms that no man is 3et able to answer, we are prepared 
to tell a part of the story. 

B 1 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



At one time the earth was probably a white-hot sphere 
like the sun ; but in time the outside cooled to a crust of 
solid rock. The interior, still heated, continued to shrink 
and grow smaller, as most substances do when cooling. 
This caused the solid crust to settle and wrinkle, much as 
the skin of an apple does when the fruit is drying. Water 
collected in the depressions forming the oceans, while be- 
tween them, where the elevation of the earth's crust was 
greatest, rocks appeared above the sea-level. Thus North 

America and the other 
continents were born. 

In its babyhood, al- 
though the centre of 
the continent was still a 
broad sea, the eastern and 
western parts doubtless 
resembled the West In- 
dies of to-day, which you 
will find on the map of 
North America (Fig. 95, 
opposite p. 120). Those 
islands are the highest 
parts of mountains arranged in a chain. They seem to be 
separated only because the ridges upon which they rest 
do not rise high enough to reach above the water (Fig. 1). 
Although in early times North America consisted of 
mountain crests forming chains of islands, finally, after 
many changes, the mountains rose higher, forming a con- 
tinuous range in the east, and other ranges in the west. 
Then the plains between the mountains slowly emerged 
from the ocean, and a large part of the continent came 
into view. 




Fig. 1. 

A small picture of the West Indian region 
as it would appear if the ocean water 
were removed. Notice that tlie islands 
rest on a lofty ridge rising from the 
ocean bottom. 



PHYSIOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA 



3 




The Coal Period. — -Ages after tlie beoimiincr, a period 
arrived when in the northern part of North America it was 
much warmer than now, and the rains were far heavier. 
During that period our coal was made out of phinls. Tliere 
is good proof that the coal 
used in our stoves and fur- 
naces is composed of phmt 
remains. Beneatli the coal 
beds, in the rock wliich was 
once soil, roots of plants may 
still be seen, while stems of 
plants, and even trunks of 
trees changed to coal, reach 
up into the coal beds. Also 
a careful examination with 
the microscope, or at times 
even with the naked eye,- 
shows that coal is composed 
of bits of plants closely pressed together. Frequently 
the full form of a fern or leaf may be seen (Fig. 2). 

As the crust of the earth shrinks and wrinkles, the land 
is raised and lowered. Even now it is slowly moving in 
some places, and was doing the same during the coal period. 
At that time some of the old sea-bottom was raised above 
tlie water, forming extensive plains in the eastern part of 
Nortli America. Phmts liad long been growing ; and 
these plains were so low and level that vast swamps were 
produced (Fig. 3), on wliicli the vegetation was extremely 
rank, like a tropical jungle. After the swamp plants had 
grown for hundreds of years, the plains sank beneath the 
sea, and the vegetation became covered witli layers of sand, 
gravel, and mud, which have since hardened into rock. 



Fig. 2. 

Rock containing a fossil fern which 
grew in the swamps of the coal 
period. 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



After another long period the sea-bottom emerged once 
more, and the dense swamp vegetation returned ; but this 
time the plants grew with their roots in the ocean mud which 
had buried the earlier swamp. After many more years the 
plains again sank, and the swamp vegetation was buried 
as before. This rising and sinking of the land continued 
for ages, one set of layers of rock, soil, and vegetation be- 
ing covered up 
by another, until 
many such sets 
were formed. 

Though the 
swamps were, no 
doubt, somewhat 
similar to those 
which may now 
be seen in many 
places, the vege- 
tation grew far 
more thickly, per- 
haps even more 
thickly than in the jungles of India or the everglades of Flor- 
ida. Also the plants were so different from those of the present, 
that not a single species now living grew in the coal swamps. 

When the plants died they fell into the water, making a 
woody matting which did not fully decay, because the water 
prevented air from reaching it. If it had been dug up and 
dried, it might have made good fuel. Indeed, it is now the 
custom in Ireland, Norway, and some other cool, moist lands 
to dig such matter out of the swamps and dry it, forming peat, 
a fuel used for cooking and heating. 

Some of the poorer coals of the West, known as lignite, are 
little more than peat beds partly changed to mineral coal. 
Other coal, called anthracite, found especially in the mountains 
of Pennsylvania, has been changed so greatly that it is as hard 




Fig. 3. 

The way the coal'swamps appeared, so far as we can 
tell from the fossils which have been preserved. 



PHYSIOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA 



as some rocks, and is known as hard coal. But most of the 
coal that is mined, — as that of western Pennsylvania and the 
Central States, — although quite like a mineral, and harder 
than lignite, is not so hard as anthracite. This is called soft 
or bituminous coal. 

The woody matting that gathered in some of the swamps 
grew to be scores of feet in thickness ; but, on being cov- 
ered up, it was pressed more tightly together. As the 
number of layers above increased, causing the pressure 
to become very 
great, it gradu- 
ally changed in- 
to coal, making- 
coal beds that 
are often from 
six to twelve 
feet in tliick- 
ness. 

All this time, 
and at other pe- 
riods during the 
formation of the 
continent, iron, 
copper, gold, silver, building stones, and other materials that 
we need every day, were also being slowly formed in the rocks ; 
but Ave cannot now tell their story. 

The Mountains and Plateaus. — During the millions of 
years tliat tiie continent was growing to its present form., 
there were rising, in the East and West, mountain systems 
and surrounding plateaus that were to have a great influ- 
ence upon our climate, and therefore upon our crops^ 
our animals, and ourselves. Being very old and much 




Fig. 4. 

A view in the Dismal Swamp of Virginia. Compare 
Fig. o with this to see how different tlie trees are. 



6 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



worn down, the eastern mountains, called the Appala- 
chians, are neither very high nor very rugged, though 
they have some peaks which reach more than a mile above 
sea level. The western Cordilleras, being younger and 
therefore less worn, are more rugged, and have peaks ris- 
ing three miles and more above sea level. At the base 
of the Appalachians is a narrow plateau rarely more than 
fourteen hundred feet high ; but the Cordilleras tower 
above a broad plateau which is itself more than a mile in 
height, or as high as the mountain peaks of the east. 

Many of the rocks of the mountains and plateaus were 
deposited as sediment in the sea and afterward raised 

to their present 
position b}^ the 
movements of 
the earth's crust. 
In spite of their 
great elevation, 
the plateaus have 
remained level 
because the rock 
layers, or strata, 
of which they are 
made, were kept 
in a horizontal 
or level position 
while being up- 
lifted. This, can 
be seen where 
rivers have cut deep channels in the earth, showing the 
layers of rock to be nearly as level as when they were a 
part of the ocean floor (Fig. 6}. 




This valley, known as the Colorado Canyon, has 
been cut to a depth of over a mile in the rock 
strata of the Colorado ijlateau. Can you see the 
horizontal strata ? 



PHYSIOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA 



On the other hand, tlie wrinkling of tlie eartli's crust 
has in some phices broken and folded tlie rock layers, and 
formed lofty mountain ranges in which the strata have been 
tilted and upturned, instead of remaining level (Fig. 7). 



A part of the 
height of moun- 
tains is due to 
the fact that 
they rest upon 
a platform of 
tablelands about 
them. Therefore 
a mountain crest 
two miles above 
sea level may 
really rise less 
than a mile above 
the plateau at its 
base. 

Mountains are 
not nearly so 
high as they 




Fig. 7. 

Tilted layers in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. 
They were deposited as horizontal beds in the sea, 
as those of the Colorado plateau were (Fig. 6) ; 
but, during the mountain folding, they have been 
turned up on end, and then worn away and carved 
into irregular hills by the rains. 



would be if they had not been attacked for ages by the weather 
and the rivers. Not only have the}' been lowered by these 
means, but also greatly carved and scidptured, being cut into 
ridges. and peaks, and crossed by deep canyons which the rivers 
have dug out. 

After mountains have ceased rising, their peaks are lowered, 
and their valleys broadened, until they lose luuch of their 
mountain character, as in the case of the Aj^palachians. In- 
deed, they may even be reduced to a series of low hills, as in 
southern New England, which is really an ancient mountain 
region now worn down to its very roots. 

The folding, breaking, and scul})turing of the mountain rocks 
have had an important effect upon mining. As you see from 



8 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

Eigure 8, these changes often bring to view valuable minerals 
which were formed ages ago and are now deeply buried in the 
strata. 

Some mineral deposits, like coal, were laid down in beds 
between other layers of rock (p. 4) ; but many valuable min- 
erals, such as gold, silver, and copper ores, were deposited in 
cracks of the mountain rock, forming veins. Into these cracks 




Fig. 8. 

A section in the earth, where the rocks are folded, to show how a hed of valu- 
able mineral, such as the black layer, may be brought to light by folding 
and river cutting, while elsewhere it is deeply buried. 

hot water, often heated by deeply buried masses of lava, has 
brought valuable metals and deposited them in veins. Iron 
ore also has been deposited by water in beds and veins, though 
not always by hot water. 

Volcanoes. — Hundreds of mountain peaks in the West, 
instead of being made in the manner just described, are 
volcanoes. These are built of molten rock forced to the 
surface from within the earth. Though no longer active, 
these peaks are known to be volcanoes because of their cone 
shape, the hollows or craters in their tops, and the lava and 
volcanic ash, or blown-up lava, of which they are made. 

Doubtless some of these volcanoes have recently erupted; 
indeed, one, Mt. St. Helens in Washington, is reported to have 



PHYSIOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA 9 

been in eruption about a half century ago. Another, near Mt. 
Shasta in California, poured forth lava a very short time ago. 
This is known because the lava flow dammed up a stream, 
forming a lake whose waters rose into the surrounding forest, 
and killed the trees ; but the trees still stand in the lake, not 
having had time to decay. 

Hundreds of thousands of square miles of this western 
country are covered by lava flows. The soil produced by decay 
of the lava is often extremely fertile, and that is one of the 
chief reasons why the central part of the state, of Washington, 
which is largely covered Avith it, has become noted for its fruit 
and wheat. There the lava flowed out from great cracks or 




Fig. 9. 

Mt. Shasta, California, one of the great volcanic cones of the West, 14,380 
feet high, and made entirely of lava and volcanic ash. A smaller cone is 
seen on the right. 

fissures and flooded immense areas of country. The area of 
the lava flows in the Columbia and Snake river valleys is more 
than twenty-five times as great as that of Massachusetts. 

The Trough between the Two Mountain Systems. — 
From the mountain systems of the East and West, the 
land slopes gently toward the Mississippi River, which 
flows iu the trougli made by the uplift of the two sides of 



10 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

the continent. Measure the width of this trough on the 
map of the United States (Fig. 98, p. 123). 

This extensive lowland has had a long history, like the 
mountains. In the early ages so much of it was under 
water that a great sea extended from where the Gulf of 
Mexico now lies to the Arctic Ocean. In the rock layers 
are found many remains, or fossils, of shells, corals, and 
fish that lived in the sea of this ancient time. Upon dying 



Fig. 10. 

Section across the United States, to show the two highlands and the great 
trough between. A, Appalachians; M, Mississippi; R, Rocky Mountains. 

and dropping to the bottom, these animals were entombed 
in the beds which have since been hardened to rock. 

After a time most of this sea bottom was raised to 
form dry land, although a part of it — from the Gulf 
of Mexico to southern Illinois — remained under water 
for a long time afterward. Into this sea the Missis- 
sippi discharged its floods and dropped its load of soil, 
swept from the distant fields and mountains. As time 
went on, the river filled up the sea and formed flood 
plains, which — raised by a slight uplift — are among the 
most fertile lands of our country. And now the river 
seems bent on filling up the Gulf itself. 

Although the mountains and plateaus of our country 
are so far away from the lowlands, they have a great influ- 
ence upon them. The Mississippi Valley, in all but its 
southern part, is in a belt of the earth where most of the 
winds blow from the west. Since these winds blow from 



PHYSIOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA 11 

the Pacific Ocean, they are at first damp ; but upon reach- 
ing the western highlands, they are compelled to drop 
much of their moisture, and then they pass on into the 
Mississippi Valley as dry winds. This causes the plains 
and plateaus of the northwest to be dry or arid. The 
eastern and southern portions of the valley have a more 
liumid climate. The reasons for this are that this regfion 
is so near the Gulf and the Atlantic, and is separated from 
the latter by such low mountains, that damp ocean winds 
are able to reach it. 

In spite of the fact that most of the West is arid, 
many rivers have their sources among the high moun- 
tains. Notice, for instance, how many tributaries of the 
Mississippi rise among the mountain ranges (Map, Fig. 
97, opposite p. 122). This Avater carries sediment for 
hundreds of miles, building it into fiood plains and deltas. 
From this it is evident that the highlands not oidy sup- 
ply the Mississippi with much of its water, but also with 
some of the soil which has made such fertile farm land. 

The direction in which the ranges extend is a matter of great 
importance, also. Since the mountains rim north and south, 
the warm south winds find no highlands to clieck their north- 
ward course. Therefore, they are able to carry warmth and 
moisture a great distance, even far into the northern part of 
the United States. In consequence, the Mississippi Valley is 
one of the largest and finest farming sections in the world, 
producing a great variety of crops. Where the summers are 
shortest, though still warm, excellent wheat is raised ; farther 
south, corn is the principal crop; and in the southern part, 
where the summers are longest and hottest, tobacco, cotton, 
sugar-cane, and rice are grown. 

How different it would be if a great moimtain system 
extended east and west across the continent ! The warm sura- 



12 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



mer Avinds could not, then, carry their warmth and moisture so 
far north; neither could the north winds, which are cool in 
summer and cold in winter, reach so far south. The north 
winds are very important ; they moderate the heat of summer 
and bring cool weather in winter. Sometimes they do damage 
in winter by causing destructive frosts, even as far south as 
Florida. Then the orange and lemon trees suffer greatly. But 
they also do good, for too much heat takes away the vigor of 
the people, while cool air makes them more active. 



The Great Ice Age. — Long after the coal , beds were 
formed and the Gfreat highlands and valleys Avere built, 




Fig. 11. 

A. picture of the Cornell glacier in Greenland. It is a great waste of ice, 
slowly moving down from the interior to the coast and ending in tlie sea, 
where icebergs break off and float away. One of these may be seen in 
the picture (see also Fig. 12). 

another very important event happened in the preparation 
of this continent for our home. That was the forma- 
tion of a great ice sheet, or glacier^ which covered a large 
part of northern North America. This glacier had much 
to do with making the lakes, waterfalls, and even the soil 
itself, in that section. 



PHYSIOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA 



13 




An ice sheet similar to that one may still be seen in 
Greenland (Figs. 11 and 14). Excepting along the very 
coast, this immense island is buried beneath a sheet of ice 
which has an area about ten times as great as that of New 
York State. 

The Greenland glacier is made of snow which has fallen on 
the high interior in such immense quantities that the pressure 
upon the under 
part has changed 
it to ice, as press- 
ure from your 
hands will change 
a snowball to ice. 
As the snow col- 
lects and becomes 
ice, it spreads out, 
or flows, from the 
interior toward 
the coast, much 
as a piece of wax 
may be made to 
flow if a weight is placed upon it. Moving toward the sea, 
the glacier drags away the soil, tears off fragments of the rock, 
and scours the rock layers, as if it were a great sand paper. 
The movement is very slow, yet the ice is always pushing 
onward to the sea, where enormous icebergs are continually 
breaking off and floating away (Figs. 11 and 12). 

The glacier which formerly extended over a part of this 
continent was likewise made of snow. It covered most 
of northeastern America, reaching as far south as New 
York City and the Ohio River, but not so far south in 
the northwest (Fig. 13). Being over a mile deep in 
its tliickest part, and in consequence very heavy, the 
glacier swept away the soil which had previously been 



Fig. 12. 

An iceberg from the Greenland glacier, slowly float- 
ing southward, where it gradually melts away 
in the warmer water and air. 



14 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



'~.{^ 




Fig. 13. 

Model showing the distance which the Great Ice Sheet reached in United States. 
(Model made by E. E. Howell, Washington, D.C.) 

made. Not only this, but, by the help of rock fragments 
held fast in its bottom, it scraped off pieces of the solid 

rock and car- 
ried them for- 
ward also. 

Although the 
glacier was al- 
ways pushing 
southward into 
our country, its 
southern end 
^^"- ^"^^ was continually 

The ice front of a part of Cornell glacier (Fig. 11), with melting away, 
moraine at its base, where rock fragments fall from n-roHnp- to thp 
the melting glacier. The dark lower part of the ° 

glacier is filled with pieces of rock. warmer Ciimate 




PHYSIOGRAPHY OF yOIi'IH AMERICA 15 

which it met. At times the movement was just rapid enough 
to supply the waste due to this melting, so that the edge ve- 
niaiued in nearly the same position for years. All this time 
the sand, gravel, and rock, which had been carried along in the 
ice, were being piled up along the line where the glacier melted, 
forming a great mass called a moraine (Figs. 14 and 15). The 
moraine hills, or hummocks, of gravel and clay were often 
built to a heiirht of one or two hundred feet. 




Fig. 15. 
Some hummocks in a moraiue formed by the Great Glacier near Ilhaca, X.Y. 

After standing for a while and building a moraine in one 
place, the glacier front often advanced to the south, or melted 
away toward the north, building up other irregular piles of 
moraine hummocks. 

During the thousands of years that the glacier lasted, it 
carried millions of tons of clay and rock from one place 
to another and built many low hills. As it slipped over 
the surface, it ground boulders and pebbles together and 
rubbed them against the solid rock, scratching and groov- 
ing it (Fig.lG). Scratches thus made may still be seen 
pointing northward, toward the place from which the gla- 
cier moved. This work of rasping, digging, carrying, and 
dumping done by the glacier has led to its being called a 
combined file, plough, and dump cart of immense size. 




Fig. 16 



16 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

Finally, after thousands of years, the great ice sheet melted 
away. No one is able to say why it came or why it went 

away ; but that it ivas here 
and did the work de- 
scribed, all who have stud- 
ied the subject are fully 
convinced. 

It was the glacier 

which caused the great 

„ ^ . ^^^^^^^^^^^ number of lakes in the 

Scratches on a ^^^^^^I^^^^^^H 

rock made by ^^^^^^^^^H northeastern part of 
the glacier in 'W^^^ ^ ^l America. Min- 

passing over it. ^^^^^ 

nesota alone is said to 
have ten thousand, and in New England there are also 
thousands (Fig. 17 and Fig. 100, p. 124) ; but most of the 
states outside of the glacial region have extremely few. 

The manner in which these lakes were forlnecl is as 
follows : The load of clay and boulders, or drifts as it is 
called, was dumped irregularly over the land. It some- 
times filled in valleys and built up dams, behind which 
ponds and lakes collected. The glacier also formed lake 
basins by digging, or ploughing, directly into the rock. 
Even the Great Lakes did not exist before the glacier 
came ; their basins occupy broad river valleys which have 
been blocked by dams of drift and deepened by the plough- 
ing of the Great Ice Sheet. 

The glacier also had an important influence upon our 
manufacturing. Its load of rock fragments often filltid 
parts of valleys so that, after the ice was gone, the streams 
were compelled to seek new courses. These courses often 
lay down steep slopes or across buried ledges, over which 
the water tumbled in a succession of rapids and falls. 



PEYSIOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA 



17 



Even the great cataract of Niagara was caused in this 
way, and the same is true of many of the falls and rapids 
of hill}^ New England and New York. The many lakes 
act as storehouses to keep the noisy falls and rapids well 
supplied with water. For these reasons New England 
and New York have such abundant water-power that they 
early grew to be the greatest manufacturing centres of the 
Union. In sections of the country not reached by the 
glacier, rapids and falls are much less common. Did 
the glacier reach where you live? 




Fig. 17. 

A New England lake formed by a dam of drift left by the glacier. It is very 
irregular because the water behind the dam has risen into many valleys, 
leaving only the hilltops above the surface. 

A third important influence of the glacier was upon the 
soil. In most other parts of the country the soil has been 
made by the decai/ of rock (see First Book, p. 2) ; but in 
the glacial region the decayed rock was swept away and 
replaced by drift brought by the glacier. This was made 
by the grinding of rocks together, much as flour is made 
by grinding wheat ; in fact, glacial soil is sometimes called 
rock flour. As the glacier scraped along, it ground an 



18 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 




enormous quantity of rock to bits, so that when it melted, 
a layer of drift (Fig. 18) was left, in some places reaching 

a depth of several hun- 
dred feet. Most of 
the clays from which 
bricks are made in 
the North • were also 
brought by the glacier. 

With the melting of 
the glacier, much water 
was produced. This 
washed out and carried 
off a great deal of clay, 
in some places leav- 
ing extensive sand and 
„ , gravel plains, where the 

Glacial soil resting on the bed rock in Central SOil is not very fertde. 
New York. Many of the" cities of 

New England are built upon these level sand plains. • Into the 

sand beds the rain water readily soaks, and then slowly oozes 

out, thus keeping the streams supplied with water. This makes 

the sand plains 

great reservoirs 

of water, much as 

lakes are. 

The bits of 

ground - up rock 

left by the glacier 

have an impor- 
tant effect upon 

the soil. Since 

these fragments 

were gathered up 




Fig. 19. 

A field on Cape Ann, Mass., where the 
many large boulders. 



ilacier left 



from many places, and from many different kinds of rock, 
they sometimes cause a fertile soil in places where the decay 



PHYSIOGEAPIIY OF NORTH AMERICA 19 

of tlie rocks av^ouIcI have naturally caused a sterile soil. The 
constant rnsting or decaying of these rock fragments supplies 
the soil with plant food ; and for this reason the glacial soils 
are usually fertile year after year. But, on the other hand, in 
some places the glacier failed to grind the rock into tiny bits, 
leaving pebbles and even large boulders to cover the ground 
and prove a great nuisance to the farmer (Fig. 19). 

The Coast Line. ^- In studying about the Mississippi 
Valley and the formation of coal, we liave seen that the 
land and sea bottom are not tixed, but that they often 
slowly rise or sink. 

Such changes in the land level are even now in progress in 
many places, though so slowly that it requires years, and even 
centuries, to notice them. For instance, along the coast of 
New Jersey the land is sinking at the rate of about two feet a 
century, while the land around Hudson Bay is rising. 

Some of the recent changes in the level of the land 
have had an important effect upon the coast line. For 
example, the reason we find so many islands and penin- 
sulas along the northeastern coast (Fig, 95) is that this 
section has been lowered several hundred feet. By this 
means the ocean water has been allowed to enter the val- 
leys, while the higher land between them extends above 
the water in the form of peninsulas, capes, and islands. 

The peninsulas of Labrador and Nova Scotia, and the h\in- 
dreds of islands along the northeastern coast, including New- 
foundland, owe. their existence to this sinking. The irregular 
Pacific coast from Puget Sound northward (Fig. 20) was pro- 
duced in the same way. 

By this sinking of the land many good harbors were 
made, the best ones being where rivers enter the sea. 



20 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

When the land was higher, the streams carved out broad 
valleys, into which, when the land sank, the sea water 
entered, forming bays and harbors. That is the way the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence was formed ; also New York, Dela- 
ware, Chesapeake, and San Francisco bays, as well as the 
many excellent harbors of the East. What rivers carved 
out the bays mentioned ? (See maps, Figs. 95, 97, and 121.) 
One reason for so few good harbors along the coast of 
the Southern States is that the land in this, section has 
been rising out of the sea. Just off the coast is a broad 




Fig. 20. 

A picture of the irregular coast of Southern Alaska, near Sitka, where the 
sinking of the land has drowned the valleys, leaving only the hilltops pro- 
jecting above the sea. 

ocean-bottom plain where the water is shallow (Figs. 96, 
122, and 154), while still farther out, the bottom slopes 
rapidly and the ocean becomes very deep. Upon this sea- 
bottom plain, called the continental shelf, layers of rock 
bits, or sediment, are being deposited, much as layers of 
rock were formed on the sea bottom during the coal 
period. If the continental shelf should be raised it would 
form a great level plain. 

That part of the Southern States which borders the Gulf 
and the ocean was once a portion of this ocean-bottom 



PHYSIOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA 



21 




Fig. 21. 

A part of the raised sea bottom which forms the level 

plain of Florida. 



plain ; l)ut it has been raised until it is now a low, level 
plain (Fig. 21). Since the continental shelf is so level, 
AA^hen a part of it was lifted above the water there were 
few places for deep inlets, bays, and harbors. After 
being raised, 
the coast was 
slightly low- 
ered ; but the 
bays thus 
formed are 
shallow and 
the harbors 
poor. 

The level 
plain of the 

Florida peninsula is also a sea bottom that has been lifted above 
the ocean. jMany of the lakes and swamps which abound in 
that region are believed to be due to the shallow basins built 
by the irregular deposit of sediment on the old sea floor. 

Size, Shape, and Position. — North America is third in 
size among the six continents of the earth. B}^ reference 
to page 445, find which are larger and which smaller. 

After being changed in shape dnring millions of years, 
owing to the rising and sinking of the land, it at present 
has the form of a triangle with tlie broadest portion in the 
north. Draw the triangle. Compare its shape with that 
of South America and Africa (Fig. 359). The northern 
part is so wide, that Alaska extends to within fifty miles of 
Asia ; but Labrador is over two thousand miles away from 
Europe. Tlie distance from Alaska to Asia is so short 
that the early ancestors of our Indians and Eskimos proba- 
bly first reached North America by crossing over from 



22 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

Asia. On account of the greater distance across the 
Atlantic, for a long time Europeans did not know that 
North America existed ; but it is certain that the Norse- 
men from Norway visited our shores nearly five hundred 
years before Columbus discovered the continent. 

Those portions of North America which are nearest to 
Asia and Europe are so cold that few people live there. 
Farther south, where most of the inhabitants live, the 
continents are spread farther apart, as you will see by 
examining a globe. The broad Atlantic must be crossed 
in passing from Europe to America; this fact helps to 
explain why the Spanish colonies were able to win their 
independence from Spain, and the United States from 
England. The distance across the sea was too great to 
send large armies and supplies for them. 

This separation of Europe from America has also helped 
in the development of our industries. At first, the colo- 
nists brought even bricks, doors, and timber from Europe ; 
but although the ocean is an excellent highway, it is 
expensive to send goods such long distances. Therefore 
the settlers soon learned to raise and make most of the 
articles that they needed for food, clothing, and shelter. 

Nevertheless, the ocean is such an excellent highway 
that ships are able to sail across it in every direction and 
bring what we really need, or carry back such products as 
cotton and tobacco, which Europeans desire. Ships have 
also brought to us the hundreds of thousands of English, 
Irish, Germans, French, Swedes, and others who have set- 
tled and developed our country, and whose descendants are 
its citizens. Since Europe is our mother land^ it has been, 
and is still, very important to keep in close touch with the 
various nations of that continent. This has been made 



PHYSIOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA 23 

possible partly by the shortness of the journey, now that 
vessels are moved by steam, and partly by the excellent 
harbors caused by the sinking of our coast. 

The Pacific Ocean is much wider than the Atlantic (see a 
globe), and therefore much more difficult to cross. Although 
the shores of Asia which face ISTorth America are densely set- 
tled, until recently we have not needed to have much commerce 
with the inhabitants of that continent because they were not 
very progressive. Now, however, the Japanese have adopted 
the methods of modern civilization, and we have come into 
control of the Philippine Islands, so that many of our ships 
cross the Pacific. 

South America is also easily reached by water, and there 
is much trade with the various countries of that continent. 
Although South America is joined to North America by the 
narrow Isthmus of Panama, there is at present no railway 
connecting the two continents, though one is being planned. 
This isthmus is a great barrier to ocean commerce between 
eastern and western United States and between the Eastern 
States and Asia. It is very narrow, and in places onl}^ two 
or three hundred feet high ; yet, because it is there, ships must 
travel thousands of miles around South America. A railway 
crosses it, and ship canals, one across the isthmus and another 
farther north, are planned. Of what advantage Avill these be ? 

Relation of Man to Earth. — So we see that our conti- 
nent, as we know it, has not been here from the begin- 
ning ; instead of that, millions of years have been required 
to prepare it for us. Ocean bottoms have been lifted into 
mountains, plateaus, and valleys ; coal beds, building stones, 
and valuable minerals Imve been formed ; a mighty glacier 
has swept over the country, grinding rock into powder 
and causing lakes, water-routes, falls, and rapids ; and the 
coast has been sinking here and rising there, producing 
tine harbors in some places and greatly increasing the 



24 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

extent of the plains in others. Our very position, sepa- 
rated by the ocean from the Old World, and yet enabling 
us to reach.it when it is necessary, is an advantage. 

But our comfort and prosperity do not depend upon 
the land alone : the sun^ the air, and the ocean are also 
of great value to us. The sun supplies our heat; but it 
is warmer in sum7iier than it is in winter. The air, which 
envelops the earth, is heated by the sun's rays, and moves 
about, forming winds. These bring us vapor from the 
ocean, and this vapor falls to the earth in the form of 
rain and snow. The water of the ocean not only fur- 
nishes vapor for rain; it is also disturbed by waves and 
tides which do important work along the coast, and by 
warm and cold currents, which affect the climate even 
hundreds of miles away. All these matters need to be 
studied before we can fully appreciate how beautifully the 
world is adapted to our needs. 

Review Questions. — (1) What was the condition "of North 
America in early times ? (2) What is coal made from ? Tell 
how it was formed. (3) What proofs are there of this formation? 
(4) What is peat? (5) Name and locate our two chief mountain 
systems. (6) Hov/ high are the plateaus at the base of each ? (7) Ex- 
plain why the plateaus are so level in spite of their height. (8) How 
have the mountains been made? (9) Explain what effect this has 
had upon mining. (10) Tell about the volcanoes of the West. 

(11) Why is the Mississippi Valley called a trough? (12) What 
was its condition in early times? (13) How was the interior sea 
finally changed to dry land ? (14) Mention some ways in which the 
mountains control the Mississippi Valley. (15) What differences 
would follow if the ranges extended east and west? 

(16) Describe the Greenland glacier. (17) How far did the great 
American ice sheet reach? How deep was it? (18) What are 
moraines? (19) What do the scratches on the rocks tell us about 
the glacier? (20) Why is a glacier compared to a plough? A file? 
A dump cart? (21) In what ways did the glacier cause lakes? 



PHYSIOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA 25 

(22) Falls and rapids? (23) Soil? (2-1) What effect has the glar 
cial soil upon farming? (25) Tell the whole story of the glacier. 

(26) Why are there so many islands, peninsulas, bays, and harbors 
in the northeast? (27) Name some of them. (28) How have some 
of our largest bays been made? Name them. (29) Why are there 
so few harbors on our southern coast? (30) AVhat is the cause of the 
southern plains? (31) AVhat is the continental shelf? (32) How 
does North America compare in size with the other continents? 
(33) How far is the nuiinland from Asia and Europe ? (34) Show 
how our position is a favorable one. (35) What is the influence of 
the Isthmus of Panama? 

Suggestions. — (1) Make a collection of different kinds of coal. 
(2) Examine some pieces of soft coal closely to see if you can discover 
plant remains. (3) Obtain some peat. (4) Learn what you can 
about coal mining. (5) What is the elevation of the land at your 
home? (6) Examine layers of rock in your neighborhood to see if 
they are horizontal or tilted. See if they contain fossils. (7) INIake a 
drawing sitnilar to Figure 10. (S) AVhy are volcanoes shaped like 
a cone? Why is there a crater in the middle? (9) Make a model of a 
volcano out of sand or clay. (10) What becomes of the Greenland 
icebergs? (11) Make a map showing the extent of the American 
glacier. (12) What signs of the glacier, if any, can you find in your 
neighborhood? (13) Examine the clay in a brickyard. (14) Pound 
a pebble to bits and plant beans in it to see if they will grow as well 
in that as in soil. (15) Name several great cities that have grown up 
about our Northern harbors. Name some in the South. (16) Draw 
an outline map of the northeastern coast, and another of the southern 
coast, to see how they differ. (17) Collect pictures of volcanoes, gla- 
ciers, mountains, and plateaus. (18) With the aid of sand in a basin 
make a model of an irregular land, then pour in water to show how it 
enters to form bays, islands, etc. (19) How many days long is the 
voyage, on a fast steamer, from New York to Liverpool? How many 
miles an hour does the steamer go? How many miles does that make 
the distance ? (20) How long is the journey from San Francisco 
to Manila? (21) From New York to ^lanila by going eastward? 
Through what waters would one pass on such a voyage? (22) What 
would be the distance from New York to Manila by sailing around 
South America? How much shorter would it be if the ship could go 
through a canal across the isthmus? 

For References to Books and Akticlks, see page 438. 



II. SUMMER AND WINTER 



The Sun and its Position. — The earth is a planet^ one 
of the members of the solar system, all of which revolve 

around the great central 
body, the sun. Although 
millions of miles away, 
the sun supplies us with 
light and heat, for it is a 
glowing hot sphere over 
a million times as large 
as the earth (Fig. 22). 
The rays from the sun 
pass outward in all direc- 
tions, and some of them 
fall upon the earth (Fig. 
23), causing the light 
and heat which are of so 
much importance to us. 

Light and heat vary 
greatly in different 
places. If we could spend 
summer north of the Arctic Circle with the Eskimos 
(Fig. 24), we would find weeks of constant day,^ 9,nd be 
able to see at midnight as well as at midday. The sun 
reaches the highest point on the longest day, June 21st, 
but it is even then low in the heavens (Fig. 32). Day 

1 Exactly at the north pole there are six months of day and six months 
of night. 

26 




'Wff-'^"^ 



Fiu. 22. 

Relative size of earth and sun. This shows 
liow very large the sun is. Notice that 
the distance from the centre of the sun 
to its outside is much greater than the 
distance from the earth to the moon, 
which is 240,000 miles from us. 



a 



SUMMER AND WINTER 



27 




Fig. 23. 

Notice that of all tlie rays passing outward from 
the sun only a very small part reach the eartli, 
the rest passing off into space. 



after da}' it circles around the heavens near tlie horizon, 

coming nearer the horizon at night than during the day. 
Later in the 

summer, the sun 

begins to set and 

the days to grow 

rapidly shorter. 

Finally the sun 

disappears, even at 

noon, though for 

several weeks 

there is twilight in 

the middle of the 

day. Soon, how- 
ever, there is no twilight, and darkness prevails throughout 

the whole twen- 
ty - four hours, 
accompanied by 
bitter cold. 

During the win- 
ter nig-lit the stars 
and moon furnisli 
a dim light by the 
aid of which the 
Eskimos are able 
tohmitthe seal and 
polar bear which 
supply thfm with 
food. On these 
htuits they dress 
in warm furs and 
travel over the frozen sea on sledges drawn by wolf-like dogs. 
In the south frigid zone, the same changes in the sun's posi- 
tion occur, though there the sun is highest on December 21st 




Jmg. 24. 
Some of the Eskimos whose homes are in the frigid 
north. The mothers carry the babies in fur 
hoods on their backs. 



28 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



This causes the long summer day to come there while the north 
frigid zone is wrapped in the darkness of the long winter night. 

Now let us fancy ourselves in the torrid zone. There 
the sun reappears every morning in the year ; and every 

noon it is almost directly 
overhead, while for a part 
of the year it is exactly 
overhead. No snow and 
ice are seen, and the cli- 
mate is so warm, even dur- 
ing the winter, that the 
inhabitants wear as few 
clothes as possible. In- 
deed, some savages wear 
almost none (Fig. 25). 

While the noonday shad- 
ows in the north tiemperate 
and north frigid zones al- 
ways fal] toward the north, 
and in the southern zones 
toward the south, in the 
torrid zone they fall north- 
ward during one part of 
the year and southward during another part. Of course at the 
time when the sun is directly overhead they do not extend in 
either of these directions. 

These different positions of the sun, with the resulting 
changes in the length of the days and in the seasons, are 
among the most important facts about our home, for they 
compel great changes in our food, clothing, and habits. 
What differences, from season to season, are there in the 
position of the sun and the length of the day where you 




Fig. 25. 

Savages whose homes are iu the tropical 
zone. Contrast their dress with that 
of the Eskimos (Fig. 24). 



SUMMER AND WINTER 29 

live ? Two causes work together to produce these 
changes, as we shall now see. 

Inclination of the Earth's Axis. — One cause for change 
of seasons is the position that the earth holds with ref- 
erence to the sun. It is easy to see that if the earth 
always stood before the sun, as shown in Figure 33, page 
35, the sun's rays would reach from pole to pole, lighting 
one half of the globe at a time and leaving the other half 
in darkness. As the earth made its daily rotation, all 
places upon it would have day and night every twenty- 
four hours, excepting at the very poles, where the sun 
would always be seen on the horizon. 

But if the earth's axis were tipped or inclined^ so that 
the north pole was always turned toward the sun, as in 
Figure 31, the conditions would be very different. Then, 
as the earth rotated, the sun's rays would not only reach 
the north pole, but extend beyond it, while they would 
not reach the south pole at all. 

In that case, if one stayed a year in the north frigid zone, the 
sun would be in sight all the time, while if he stayed a year at 
the south pole he would not see it at any time. Since the sun 
furnishes heat as well as light, it woidd always be summer in 
the northern hemisphere and winter in the southern. 

If the earth's axis were tipped so that tlie south instead of 
the north pole were the one always turned toward the sun (Fig. 
34), the opposite condition would prevail in each hemisphere. 
That is, it would be perpetual night at the north pole and con- 
stant winter where we live ; but perpetual summer would pre- 
vail in the south temperate zone, and the south pole would have 
constant sunlight. 

The fact is, that the earth's axis is always inclined^ as in 
the figures ; but, as we well know, our summer does not 



80 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

last all the time, nor do we have perpetual winter. We 
also know that both the north and south poles are in 
darkness a part of the 3^ear, and lighted for the remainder 
of the year. 

Revolution of the Earth around the Sun^ — This leads 
us to the second cause for our seasons. Although the 
earth's axis is always, inclined in the same direction, the 
earth does not always remain on the same side of the sun. 
Therefore it does not have the same pole always turned 
toward the sunlight ; for, in addition to its rotation, the 
earth has another movement, that of travelling, or revolv- 
ing^ around the sun (Fig. 27). 

The sun is about ninety-three million miles from us — a 
distance so great that no one can fully realize it ; but the 
earth is moving at such a tremendous rate tliat it com- 
pletes one journey around the sun, or one revolution, in 
almost exactly 365 days, or one year. This . explains 
how we get our year. 

In its revolution the earth is moving at the rate of more 
than one and a half million miles per day. What speed ! And 
at the same time it is whirling or rotating rapidly on its axis, 
as already explained (see First Book, p. 115). 

The Attraction of Gravitation. — As in the case of the earth's 
rotation, one might ask (First Book, p. 116), Why are we not 
swept from the earth by the wind ? The answer, as before, is 
that the air, and everything else upon the earth, is drawn 
toward it and held in place by the force of gravity, so that all 
travel together in the journey around the sun. 

If the earth is revolving at such a fearful speed, why does 
not the earth itself fly away into space ? As a stone swinging 
round at the end of a string flies off when the string breaks, so 
it might seem that the earth would fly away, since there appears 
to be nothing holding it to the sun. 



SUMMER AND WINTER 



31 



But there is something to hokl it. It is not a string nor a 
rope, to be sure, but something far stronger. The sun is very 
much larger than the earth, m fact, over a million times as 
large, and. attracts the earth to it, as the force of gravity at- 
tracts men and houses to the earth. This attraction of gravita- 
tion, which the sun exerts upon the earth, is what prevents 
the latter from flying far off into space ; it holds the earth as 
hrmlv as the string holds the stone. 




Fig. 26. 

Notice that the axis here is inclined in the same direction in each case, but that 
the light reaches different places on the apple in each of the three positions. 

Effect of Inclination and Revolution. — Since the earth's 
axis is always inclined in one position, the revolntion 
causes first one pole to be turned toward the sun, and 
then the other. You can understand how this must be if 
you run a needle or slender stick tlirougli an apple, as in 
Figure 26, and carry it around a lamp which represents 
the sun. In doing this be sure always to keep the stick, 



82 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



whicli represents the earth's axis, tilted in the same direc- 
tion. As jou go, the part of the apple turned toward the 
lamp constantly changes. The inclination of the axis 
does not change'; but, nevertheless, first one end, or pole 
of the stick, faces the light, then the other. 

So it is with the earth ; as it revolves around the sun, 
always with its axis inclined in the same way (Fig. 27), 
it is constantly reaching new places in its path of revolu- 



LCji— r-~J«-f- 




-r<0< 




--c'^v* 



To show how the earth appears as it journeys around the sun. In order to 
represent this clearly, it has been necessary to make the earth appear very 
much larger than it really is. Compare the size of the earth and sun here 
with that in Figure 22, where their relative size is shown. 



tion, now with the northern hemisphere facing the sun 
(June, Fig. 27), and the southern hemisphere turned away 
from it, then, later, with the conditions just reversed. ' 

Summer and Winter. — These changes in the position of 
the earth with reference to the sun exert an immense 
influence upon the life on the globe. They cause us, 
whose homes are in the temperate zone, to struggle at one 
season to keep cool and at another to keep warm ; while 



SUMMER AND WINTER bS 

for weeks, and even months at a time, they force the P^ski- 
mos to hunt their food in darkness and in the midst of the 
most intense cold (p. 27). 

To imderstand why it is cold in winter, we must remember 
that our light and heat are received from the sun, and that it 



SUN'S HAYS 




RFACMING EARTH 


SUN'S RAYS REACHING EARTH IN 


AT SOON FROM 


/AFTERNOON WHEN SUN IS LOW IN 


NEARLY ABOVE. 


HEAVENS. 



A ;: 




a^ 



RFACE OF THE EARTH. 



Fig. '28. 



Two bundles of ray.s, each a half inch wide (A-B and E-F) ; but since one 
set comes from nearly overhead, while the other set comes at a slant, 
the first fall upon a smaller surface than the second. If 5'ou measure C-D, 
you will tind it half as long as G-H. That is, the same number of rays 
coming at a slant cover twice as much ground as tliose from overhead. 

makes a great difference how tlie sun's rays reach us. Morn- 
ing and evening are cooler than midday chiefly because at the 
former time the sun's .....,:::.. 

rays fall at a greater 
slant (Fig. 28) ; and for 
the same reason winter 
is colder than summer. 

You have, of course, 
noticed that in midwin- 
ter the sun rises and sets 
far to the south of the 
true east and west, and 
that even at noon it is 
low in the heavens ; but ^^"" ~^' 

in midsummer it rises A diagram showing that the sun's rays m-ar 

1 , 1 r i.-L i tlie polos roacli the eartli In a more slant- 

nnd sets much further to .^^^^ ^^.^^,^ ^,,^, ^^^^^ ^^^^^.^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ 

the north, and at noon is air, than at the equator. 




34 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



sun'sIrave 

AT NOON 



eUN'S RAYS IN 



LATE AFTERNOON 



SUN'S RAYS IN 



far higher in the heavens. When the sun is so low, the rays 
reach the earth in a slanting way, so that fewer of them fall 
upon a given area of ground, than when they come from nearly 

overhead (Fig. 28). 

There is a great deal of dust 
floating about, in the air, as 
may easily be seen when abeam 
of sunlight enters a dark room. 
This interferes with the pas- 
sage of the rays, much as mud- 
dy water does; hence, when 
the sun is low and its rays pass 
through a great thickness of 
dusty air (Fig. 30), many of 
them are prevented from reach- 
ing the earth. In large cities 
^^^- ■^^- where there is much smoke, 

To show that the sun's rays pass and on hazy days when there is 
through more air when the sun is ^^^^ ^^^^ -^ ^j^^ ^-^ ^j^^ g^^^_ 
low in the heavens than when it ' 

is high. Explain the figure. light IS greatly interfered with. 




The Length of Day and Night. — The northern hemi- 
sphere faces the sun most fully on the 21st of June, as 
shown in Fig. 31. At noon of that day the sun is directly 
over the heads of the 
people who live in 
Cuba, southern Mex- 
ico, and other places 
on the Tropic of Can- 
cer. 

At that time there 
is sunlight through- 
out the entire twenty- 
four hours in all the 
region enclosed by 




Fig. 31. 



Position of the earth June 21. Notice the 
vertical ray (middle heavy line) over the 
Tropic of Cancer. The shaded portion of 
the ball represents night. 



SUMMER AND WINTER 



35 




Fig. -62. 

The suu at miduight of June 21, at North Cape, 
Norway. 



the Arctic Circle. Find this upon a globe, and note how 
much of Greenland and Alaska it includes. 

The 21st of June, when the midnight sun shines on all 
parts of the north 
frigid zone, is our 
longest day ; but 
farther south the 
days grow short- 
er until the Ant- 
arctic Circle is 
reached. There, 
on June 21, the 
sun just appears 
on the horizon 
at noon, while nearer the south pole it is dark as night 
throughout the entire twenty-four hours. 

After the 21st of June, the earth's fui-ther revolution 
causes the north pole to begin to turn away from the 

sun and the south 



pole to turn toward 
it. The sun then ap- 
pears to be moving 
southward ; but, as 
in tlie case of sunrise 
and sunset, we know 
that it is not the suu, 
but the earth, that is 
moving. 

On the 22d of September, the sun's rays are vertical at 
the equator, and its light just reaches the poles (Fig. 38). 
Now that the days are shorter than the nights, our sum- 
mer is over. 




Fig. 33. 
Position of the earth September 22. 



S6 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 




Fig. 34. 

Position of the earth December 21. 



By the 21st of December, the sun's rays are vertical 
at the Tropic of Capricorn (Fig. 34), and they reach far 

beyond the south pole, 
lighting and warming 
all the south frigid zone 
throughout the entire 
twenty-four hours. 
Then the north frigid 
zone is left in dark- 
ness. At that date, 
which is the beginning 
of winter with us and 
of summer in the southern hemisphere, the sun appears 
farthest south, and we have our shortest day. This is also 
the day when the sun's rays reach us at the greatest slant. 
As the earth revolves farther, the vertical rays of the 
sun fall farther north, reaching the equator again on 
March 21, when spring begins (Fig. 35). The 22d of 
September and the 21st of March are called the equi- 
noxes (a word mean- 
ing equal nights), 
because the days 
and nights are then 
equal in length. 

On June 21, the 
rays are once more 
vertical over the 
Tropic of Cancer, and 
thus a year has been 
completed. Every year the earth makes this revolution, 
producing our seasons and constantly changing the length 
of our days and nights. 




Fig. 35. 
Position of the earth March 21. 



SUMMER AND WINTER 87 

We see that these important changes are due to the inclina- 
tion of the earth's axis and to the revolution of the earth around 
the sun. Can you think what would be the result if the axis 
were inclined considerably more? Carry an apple around 
the lamp in this different position to see. What changes 
would then have to follow in our mode of living ? What if 
the axis were inclined less ? What if it required more than 
365 days for the earth to revolve around the sun ? What if 
considerably less ? 

The Zones. — It will be remembered from the First Book 
(p. 120) that the Tropics and the Arctic and Antarctic circles 
form the boundaries of the zones ; and, from what has just 
been said, it is evident that it is the sun's position in the 
heavens that fixes these boundaries. What is the position of 
the sun at noon of June 21 at the northern boundary of the 
north temperate zone ? At the southern boundary ? What is 
its position on December 21 ? Answer the same questions 
for the south temperate zone. For the torrid zone. 

You Avill remember, of course, that there is nothing to mark 
the position of these boundaries, and that if a person should 
pass from one zone to another, he would find the change so 
gradual that he probably would not know when they were 
passed. Indeed, in some places, the climate is cooler Avithin 
the torrid zone than it is outside that zone. Suggest some 
reasons why this is true. 

Questions. — (1) What changes in the sun's position are noticed 
where the Eskimos live? What about the temperature? (2) How 
do the changes in the south frigid zone differ from these? (3) What 
conditions prevail in the torrid zone? (4) What changes occur in 
the temperate zone where you live? (5) In the sonth temperate 
zone? (6) In wh^at direction do shadows fall in each of the zones? 
(7) What woidd be the effect if the earth's axis were always in tlie 
position shown in Figure 33? (S) If the north pole were always turned 
toward the sun? (9) If the south pole were always turned toward 
it? (10) Wiiat is the real position of the earth's axis? (11) Wiiat 
other motion besides rotation has the earth? (\'2) \Vhat determines 
the length of a year? (13) Why do we not notice tlie rapid move- 



38 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

ment of the earth? (14) What prevents the earth from flying off 
into space? (15) Show how the revolution of the earth causes first 
one pole, then the other, to be turned toward the sun. (16) What 
are the two causes for our changes of seasons ? (17) Why are the 
sun's rays less intense when the sun is low in the heavens than when 
it is higher? (18) On what day does the sun appear fai-thest north? 

(19) What does the Tropic of Cancer mark? The Arctic Circle? 

(20) When is the longest day at your home? What is the posi- 
tion of the sun then ? (21) What about the southern hemisphei-e at 
that time? (22) What causes the sun to appear to move south 
after June 21? (23) When does our autumn begin? Our winter? 
(24) What does the Tropic of Capricorn mark? The Antarctic 
Circle? (25) When does our spring begin ? Our summer? (26) What 
are the boundaries of the different zones ? 

Suggestions. — (1) Show by a globe, or a ball, how the two move- 
ments of the earth, rotation and revolution, can be going on at the 
same time. (2) How cold is it in winter where you live ? How warm 
in summer? (3) How long is your day at present? Are the days 
growing longer or shorter? (4) During which months do they grow 
longer? (5) During which months shorter? (6) Measure -tlie length 
of the shadow of a tall pole at midday, and observe whethei- it is grow- 
ing longer or shorter each day. Why is it changing? (7) Make a 
drawing showing the five zones of the earth and the lines that 
bound them. (8) Notice the stars, especially those of the Great 
Dipper, in the fall and again in the winter, to see whether they also 
appear to change their position. (9) The axis of the earth always 
points nearly toward the north star. Should you expect that star to 
move also? Watch to see if it does. (10) What large stars can be 
seen in summer? In winter? Why different ones ? (11) Have you 
ever seen an eclipse of the moon? What is the cause of one? 
(12) Write a story telling how the change from summer to winter 
affects your plays, food, and clothing. (13) Write another story 
about some changes that you have noticed, in plants and animals, 
which have been caused by the change in season. (14) Find just 
how many degrees the axis of the earth is inclined. 

For References to Books and Articles, see page 439. 



III. WIND AND RAIN 

Importance of Winds. — On some clays the air seems too 
lazy to move ; it is calm, and will neither lift kites, turn 
windmills, nor push sailing vessels. We have learned 
(First Book, Chapter VIII) that the air obtains vapor by 
evaporation of water, and that it takes much vapor from 
the ocean. We have also learned that the winds may carry 
this vapor for hundreds of miles before it is condensed into 
raindrops or snowflakes. If tlie air did not move, but were 
always calm, as on some days, there could be no vapor 
brought to form rain : then the continents would be des- 
erts, and plants, animals, and men could not live upon them. 

Winds do blow most of the time in all parts of the 
world, and they carry with them vapor enough to water 
most of the land. It will be important, therefore, to 
study the winds and see what causes them, what their 
prevailing directions are, and what effect they have upon 
the climate of different parts of the world. 

The Sea Breeze. — The cause of winds is often well illus- 
trated near the seashore. For reasons that cannot be 
stated here, land warms much more quickly than water. 
That this is so, you can easily prove for yourself by plac- 
ing two pans upon a stove, one with a thin layer of dry 
earth, the other with the same quantity of water, and 
by noticing which becomes hot first. 

On a hot summer morning, the land along the seashore 
soon becomes warm, and the air above it is heated, as over 
a stove, so that it expands and grows light. That over 

39 



40 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



the water, remaining cool like the sea itself, pushes in 
toward the shore ; and thus a breeze from the sea, or a sea 
breeze, is created. In summer, such a breeze is frequently 
felt at the seashore and along the shores of large lakes, 
and it helps to make the temperature so agreeable that 
many people resort to those places during warm weather. 

At night time, the land cools more rapidly than the sea; and 
then the cool air from the land moves out toward the sea, form- 
ing a land breeze. 

The Monsoon Winds. — Similar winds blow from the ocean 
far into some of the continents. In Asia, for example (Fig. 36), 



1/1/ a 


m L 


a n c 


' 1 


L . 




/' 


f — ^ 


"^S\ 






'ir 


^ \ 


Vr 




'^'^ 


A 7 


/ 


// 


'^-*- 


\/':L 


/} 




Co 


or s 


> 

p/a 


// 




J 




/ 







'' y)N arm S^ a / -^ 



Fig. 36. 

The monsoon winds of India, the arrows showing their direction. Which fig- 
ure represents the summer season ? Why do the winds change with the 
seasons ? 



where they are best developed, the land becomes so warm in 
summer that steady winds, called summer monsoons, blow from 
the cool ocean toward the warm land. But during the wiiiter 
the land is much colder than the ocean, and then the winter 
monsoon blows from the land toward the sea. It is the sum- 
mer monsoons blowing from the warm Pacific Ocean that cause 
the heavy summer rains in the Philippine Islands. 

These winds are so steady near the coast that the captains 



WIND AND RAIN 



41 



of sailing vessels bound for India count upon finding the wind 
blowing toward the coast in summer and aWay from it in 
winter. Summer monsoons also blow from the Gulf of Mexico 
over the plains of Texas and the lower Mississippi Valley, 
bringing vapor for rain. I^otice on the map (Fig. 46, p. 50) 
that this is a very raiu}^ region. 




Fig. 37. 
To illustrate how the air moves in a room heated by a stove. 

The Effect of a Stove. — The difference in temperature 
of sea and land is not the most important cause of winds. 
There are other differences in temperature that are much 
greater ; but in order to understand the winds that they 
produce, let us first consider the currents of air produced 
by a hot stove in a room (Fig. 37). 



4:2 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

As the air near the stove is warmed, it expands and 
grows lighter. Then the cooler air settles down and flows 
in, forcing upward that which has been warmed. The 
latter grows cooler in contact with the cool ceiling and 
walls of the room ; and, being made denser and heavier 
on that account, it again settles toward the floor and then 
once more moves toward the stove. In such a room you 
can easily observe how much warmer the air is near the 
ceiling, where it has risen from the stove, than near the 
floor at some distance from the stove. . 

Cause of the Trade Winds. ■ — The greater winds of the 
earth may be compared to this movement of air in a room, 




>■ SOUTH POLE 

Fig. 38. 
Diagram to show, by arrows, the movement of the greater winds of the earth. 

the torrid zone, warmed by the sun's rays, taking the place 
of the stove. There, owing to the torrid heat, the atmos- 
phere becomes expanded and light. The heavier air to 
the north and south flows in, pushing the light air away 
and producing winds, known as the trade winds (Fig. 38), 
which begin in the temperate zone, hundreds of miles away. 
Since the heated air must escape somewhere, it rises far 
above the surface, and then moves back in the same direc- 
tion from which it came, forming the anti-trade winds (Fig. 
88). The atmosphere extends many miles above the earth, 



WIND AND RAIN 43 

SO that there is plenty of room for two winds blowing in 
opposite directions, one above the other. 

In Cuba, the Caribbean Sea, and elsewhere, where the trade 
winds at the surface are blowing toward the southwest, one 
notices that the clouds far up in the sky are steadily borne in 
the opposite direction by the anti-trades. Also, when vol- 
canoes in Central America have been in eruption, the ashes 
that were blown out from them have been carried hundreds of 
miles in a direction opposite to that of the prevailing trade 
winds at the surface. 

Being cooled on account of its great height, the air of 
the anti-trades slowly settles, some of it coming to the 
surface at about a third of the distance to the poles. 
There it spreads out, a part continuing on toward the 
poles, a part returning to the equator as the trade 
winds (Fig. 38). 

As you see, the correspondence between these currents 
in the atmosphere and those in the room is quite close. 
In both cases air moves in toward a heated place, then up, 
then outward and down, and once more inward toward the 
heated part. 

Effect of Rotation. — There are dilferences, however, and one 
of them is especially important. In the case of the room, the 
currents move directly toward the stove ; then, after rising, 
directly away from it. If the earth stood perfectly still, tlte 
trade winds would doubtless blow directly toward the equator 
from the north and south (dotted lines. Fig. 39). 

The daily rotation of the earth, from west to east, greatly 
interferes with that movement. Because of rotation, the trade 
winds are turned, or deflected, from their straight course 
toward the equator. Those from the north arc turned to the 
right, so that they come from the northeast; and those from the 



44 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



North T n 



south, are turned toward the left, and therefore come from the 
southeast (Fig. 39). 

The direction of the anti-trades is also changed toward the 
right in the northern hemisphere, where they blow from 

the southwest, and 

de w!nd:s^ . , toward the left in 
I I I I ' ' 

/ '/ !/ 1/ 1/ !/ *^® southern hemi- 
'\ A A A A A sphere, where they 
i/iJ-iJ-i,/^/^ blow from the north- 
west. Thus the anti- 
trades blow over the 
same route as the 
trade winds, but in 
the opposite direc- 
tion. We can only 
state the facts here, 
for the explanation 

is far too difficult to 
Fig. 39. 



Belt of Call 

EQ-U-A-T-OR— 




The dotted arrows show the direction the trade 
winds would take if the eartli's rotation did not 
deflect tliem to the left in the southern hemis- 
phere and to the right in the northern. By de- 
flection they are turned as indicated by the 
other arrows. 



Since the sun, 
which is the cause 
of the different 
zones of heat, has 
shone for millions of years, and will probably continue to 
shine for millions more, we may be certain that these great 
winds are permanent winds. The currents of air in a room 
cease when the stove grows cold ; but, for ages to come, 
the sun will heat the torrid zone more than the temperate. 
Thus the trade winds will be kept in motion day and 
night, winter and summer, as they now are, and as they 
were when they helped Columbus on his venturesome 
voyage across the Atlantic. 

Effect of Revolution. — The belt of most intense heat is not 
always in exactly the same part of the earth, being north of 



WIND AND RAIN 



45 



the equator in Jime, when the sun is vertical at the Tropic of 
Cancer, and south of it in December, when the sun's rays are 
vertical at the Tropic of Capricorn. This causes the trade aiul 
anti-trade winds to change their position somewhat, being far- 
ther north in summer than in winter (Figs. 40 and 42). So 
here is another important effect of revolution ; for by it, in many 
places, the trade winds are caused to blow during a part of the 
year while they are absent during the remainder. 



A' C R^rn E Rti^P^ii EV A I Li^NG^ 



The Belt of Calms. — At th^e place where the air of the 
trades rises, tliat is, moves upward instead of along the sur- 
face, the winds 
are weak and 
irregular, often 
dying down to 
a calm. This 
is called the belt 
of calms (Fig. 
38), or the dol- 
drums. Over 
this belt, which 
is several hun- 
dred miles in 
width, the air 
grows cool as it 
rises, and the va- 




FiG. iO. 

Diagram to show the posilion of the belt of calms 
and the trade winds in winter. Compare with 
Figure 42. 



por which it carries is condensed, forming clouds and rain. 
For these reasons the doldrums form a very rainy belt 
extending entirely around the earth (Fig. 44). Clouds 
begin to form there nearly every morning ; and by after- 
noon, when earth and air have become much heated, the 
air rises more actively, and heavy showers occur, often 
accompanied by fierce thunder and lightning. 



46 



A GENERAL S'TUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



The rainy belt of calms is of course always in the torrid 
zone, and usually not far from the middle of it (Figs. 40 
and 42) . It is the heavy rain there that supplies the damp- 
ness necessary for the dense jungles of the tropical forests 
of the Amazon valley, Central Africa, and the East Indies. 

This is one of the rainiest regions in the world ; but the belt 
of calms is not always in the same position, moving northward 




Fig. 41. 
A scene in the dense tropical forest of the belt of calms. 

in summer and southward in winter (Figs. 40 and 42). As a 
result of this, places having heavy rains in one season, when 
the belt of calms has moved to them, have much less rain in 
the opposite season. This is very well illustrated in northern 
Africa, between the Sahara desert and the Sudan, where there 
is plenty of rain in summer and very little in winter. 



WIND AND BAIN 



47 



The Trade Win-d Belt. — In blowing over the ocean, the 
trade winds obtain a great deal of \'apor ; and, as we have 

seen, some of 

this is con- 
densed to form 
rain in the belt 
of calms. But 
some of it falls 
as rain before 
reaching that 
belt. 

Notice in 
Figure 44 that 
much more rain 
falls on the 
eastern side of 
South America 




Fig. 42. 

Diagram to show the position of the trade wind belts 
and the belt of calms in summer. Compare with 
Figure 40. 



than on the western side. Notice also that south of the 
equator the trade winds blow from the southeast, while 
north of it they blow from the northeast. This causes 
them to reach South America after having passed over 
the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore the winds arrive on the 
eastern coast charged with vapor ; then, as they rise over 
the land and become cooler, some of the vapor condenses 
to form rain. 

From this it is evident that there is a very rainy region 
not only in the belt of calms, but also in those places, just 
north and south of it, where the trade winds blow from 
the ocean upon the land. 

After having passed over the land, the air of the trade 
winds is often so dry that deserts are caused (Fig. 43). 
In the First Book (p. 249), it was stated that the winds 



48 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



of Australia, which lies in the south trade wind belt, 
are robbed of their moisture by the highlands near the 

eastern coast. Thus 
the interior of Aus- 
tralia is a desert. 
There are also heavy 
rains in the trade 
wind belt on the east- 
ern side of the Andes, 
while the western side, 
in Peru and Chile, is 
arid, although very 
near the ocean. 
In North America much the same thing is seen ; for, 
while the eastern coast of southern Mexico has plenty of 
rain, central and western Mexico are arid, and in parts 




Fig. 43. 

Picture of a desert. Notice the absence of 
trees. Contrast this with Figure 41. 



LIGHT RAINFALL 
MODERATE RAINFALL 
HEAVY RAINFALL 




Fig. 44. 

A small map of the world to show the regions of heavy, moderate, and light 
rainfall. The arrows show the direction of the prevailing winds. 

almost a desert. The desert of Sahara is also in the trade 
wind belt, but the winds reach it only from the land. 



WIND AND BAIN 



49 



We have said that both the trade wind belts and the belt of 
calms change their position somewhat with the season. This 
of course also changes the rainy belts each season. Therefore 
in parts of the torrid zone people speak of the rainy and dry 
seasons much as we do of the summer and winter. 



calms (Fig. 
light, vari- 



air IS 



The Horse Latitudes. — It was said (p. 43) that a part 
of the air of the anti-trades settles to the earth and 
returns as trade wdnds toward the belt of 
38). At this place there is a belt of 
able winds with frequent calms, because 
coming down instead of 
moving along the surface. 
This belt is known as the 
hoj'se latitudes.^ 

While rising air becomes 
cool, thus causing clouds and 
rain, air that is settling and be- 
coming warmer is dry and 
clear. Therefore in the horse 
latitudes there is little rain ; 
indeed, there are numerous 
arid sections in this belt also, 
as the dry plateau of Spain, 
and the great deserts of central 
Asia. 

The horse latitude belt extends across southern United 
States (Fig. 46), and this is one of the principal reasons for 
the dry plains of western Texas, and the arid regions of Kew 
Mexico, Arizona (Fig. 45), and southern California. Florida 
and the coast of the Gulf of Mexico are in the same belt; 

1 Called horse latitudes because sailing vessels, carrying horses from 
New England to the West Indies in the early days, were so delayed by 
the calms that the horses had to be thrown overboard when the drinking 
water gave out. 




Fig. 45. 

A giant cactus, ou the desert of south- 
ern Arizona, in the horse latitudes. 



50 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



but they are so near the ocean that sea breezes and monsoon 
winds bring an abundance of rain to them. 

The Prevailing Westerlies. — Not all the air of the anti- 
trades settles in the horse latitudes : some moves on toward 




Fig. 46. 

A map to show the rainfall of the United States in inches ; that is, the numher 
of inches of water that would collect all over the surface in a year if all 
the rain remained where it fell. 

the poles (Fig. 38). If you watch the higher clouds, 
you will find that they are moving from the west toward 
the east. In northern United States the winds at the sur- 
face are also more often from the west than from any other 
quarter. This belt, in which the prevailing winds are from 
the west, is known as the region of prevailing westerlies. 
Northern United States and Canada are included in it 
(Figs. 44 and 46). Keep a record of the direction of the 
winds for each day during a month. 



WIND AND RAIN 



61 



Winds are mucli more steady on the ocean than on the land 
for several reasons, the principal one being that the tempera- 
tnre of the water does not change so quickly as that of the 
land. On land one place may become much warmer than an- 
other not far away, and then winds blow toward the warmer 
section. This often changes the direc- 
tion of the regular winds. 

So steady are the prevailing west- 
erlies over the ocean, that, in the 
southern hemisphere, where there is 
little land, they almost always blow 
from the west. Indeed, it is said that 
vessels, choosing a course south of 
Africa and South America, can sail 
around the world with fair winds al- 
most all the way, if they go toivard 
the east ; but if they sail in the oppo- 
site direction, the winds are against 
them. 

In the prevailing westerly belt, 
Ave would naturally expect a heavy 
rainfall on the west coasts, as we 
do on the east coasts in the trade 
wind belt. The map (Fig. -16) 
shows that this is so in the United 
States ; and if Figure 44 were large 
enough it would show it for other 
sections of the world. For instance, 
south of the desert country of Peru 
and northern Chile, on the west 
coast of South America, there is 
an abundance of rain. 

North of the arid country of 
Mexico and southern California 




Fig. 47. 

Two of the giant trees of 
tlie warm, rainy belt of 
nortlipi-ri California. No- 
tice how small the man 
appears at the base of the 
first tree. 



52 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

(Fig. 46) there is heavy I'ainfall from northern California 
to southern Alaska. It is in this rainy belt that the largest 
trees in the world are found (Fig. 47). 

Depositing so much of their vapor on the mountainous 
land near the coast, these winds soon become too dry to 
produce much rain. It is for this reason that the plains 
and plateaus of Idaho, Montana, western Dakota, and other 
states of the northwest, are for the most part too arid for 
agriculture without irrigation. 

Eastern United States and Canada. — One might expect 
that the west winds, so dry after passing over the moun- 
tains of the Western States, would continue on to the 
northeastern states and cause them to be arid also ; but 
we know that this is not the case. It is true that the 
west winds rarely bring rain ; but, in addition to them, 
there are east and south winds blowing from the Atlantic 
Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and these bring, an abun- 
dance of vapor. 

In northern and eastern United States the winds are 
variable, and the temperature is very changeable. In any 
particular locality on one day it may be warm and pleasant, 
with a south wind ; the next day a cool, dry wind blows 
from the northwest ; after two or three days this gives 
place to a cloudy sky and rain, brought on by south or 
east winds; and then fair, cool weather sets in, with the 
wind again from the northwest. 

There are, of course, reasons for these frequent changes, 
and in order to understand them, let us follow the weather 
changes for a few days. Out in the northwest there comes 
to be a place, or an area, of low pressure (Fig. 49); that 
is, an area where the air is lighter than that over the sur- 
rounding region. 



WIND AND RAIN 63 

The air from the surrounding country, where the press- 
ure is greater, hurries toward the low pressure area, even 
from hundreds of miles away, causing winds which on the 
south side blow from the south, on the east side from the 
east, and so forth (Fig. 49). 

Toward the place where the pressure is low, tlie air is 
flowing in from all sides, then rising. As it rises, the 
vapor condenses, forming clouds and rain, as in the belt 




Fig. 4S. 

A section through a cyclonic storm to show the immense area of clouds and 
rain. A, represents the Appalachian Mountains; M, the Mississippi River. 
The direction of the winds is shown hy the arrows. 

of calms. Such an area of low pressure, with its clouds 
and rain, is known as a cyclonic storm area (Fig. 48), and 
it is during these storms that most of the rain of north- 
eastern United States and Canada comes. 

Instead of remaining in one place, the cjxlonic storms 
steadily travel onward, usually beginning in the north- 
west and always passing eastward (Fig. 50). The paths 
followed by the storm centres generally pass over the 
Great Lakes, down the St. Lawrence Valley to the ocean, 
which they often cross, and reach even far into Eurasia. 
They move eastward because the prevailing westerlies carry 
them along: indeed, these great, whirling, cyclonic storms 
are apparently eddies in the prevailing westerlies, similar 
to the eddies in the current of a stream. 

The area of country upon which rain may be falling 
from the clouds of one of these storms is sometimes very 
great, places fully a thousand miles apart sometimes receiv- 



54 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 




Fig. 49. 

A weather map of the United States on a wintei-'s day. The lines are lines of 
equal air pressure, — the lower the figure, the lighter the air (29.5 represent- 
ing lighter air than 29.7). The pressure is determined Toy an instrument 
called the barometer. Study this map carefully and tell about the air 
pressure, winds, temperature, and rain in different parts. 



ing rain at the same time (Fig. 48). As the storm moves 
eastward, it grows clear on the western side, while the 
cloudy and rainy parts appear farther and farther east- 
ward (Figs. 49 and 50). 

The vapor is brought toward the storm centre from the 
Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean, being carried by the winds for 
hundreds of miles, even into Canada. As stated on page 11, 
the fact that there is no high mountain range extending 
across southern United States is of great importance. If 
there were such mountains, instead of the low Appalach- 
ians and the open plains of the Mississippi Valley, the 
winds could not carry their vapor so far, but would drop 
it on the coast side, leaving the interior a desert. 



WIND AND RAIN 



55 




Fig. 50. 

Weather map for the day following that of Figure 49. Study this carefully, 
and tell how it differs from Figure 49. 

Not only are rains caused by these storms, but hot spells and 
other changes as well. Warm winds, blowino- toward the low 
pressure areas from the 
south, are the cause of 
the winter thaws and the 
summer hot spells in the 
Eastern States. It is dur- 
ing these hot spells that 
thunder storms -come; 
also, in some places, torna- 
does (Fig. 51), often called 
" cyclones," in ^yhich the 
winds blow so fiercely that 
trees are overturned and 
houses torn to pieces. 

After a low pressure area has passed eastward and the 
storm is over, the wind generally blows from the west. This 
causes cool, dry weather in summer, and cold snaps in winter. 




Vie. jl. 

Picture of a tornado in Illinois that did 
great damage because of the fierce 
winds which accompanied it. 



56 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

Then, it is said that a cold wave has come ; and this, sweeping 
over the East, and even far into the South, often does great 
damage to fruit trees and other delicate plants. 

Weather Maps. — Figure 49 shows a cyclonic storm in the 
northwest, the arrows indicating how the winds blow in from 
all sides toward the centre of low pressure. Farther east is a 
region of high pressure. In Figure 50, the high and low press- 
ure areas are again represented; but, since it is a day later, 
they have moved eastward ; and the following day they would 
be still farther east. You see from these maps how the direc- 
tion of the wind for any one locality has changed as the low 
pressure areas have passed over the country. 

Although the cause of these storms is not yet fully under- 
stood, they are so regular, and their importance is so great, 
that the United States government has established a Weather 
Bureau which employs a large force of men, stationed in differ- 
ent parts of the country, to observe the pressure of air, direc- 
tion of wind, etc., and to telegraph the facts to Washington. 
These observations, made at the same time at all stations, 
furnish information which enables men to foretell the weather. 
Their predictions are greatly aided by the fact that all of the 
storms and high pressure areas will move eastward. 

Maps, similar to those of Figures 49 and 50, called weather 
maps, are also sent out. By the predictions of the Weather 
Bureau, farmers and gardeners are warned against damaging 
frosts, and sailors against severe storms. Hundreds of thou- 
sands of dollars are saved in this way nearly every year. 

Especially valuable service has been rendered by the Weather 
Bureau in predicting the very fierce hurricanes that arise in 
the West Indies and sometimes do great damage there, as well 
as on our own coast. These resemble the cyclonic storms, but 
are much more destructive. 

Since the storms and high pressure areas have so great an 
influence on our weather, you will find it of interest to study 
the weather yourself. Watch the changes in wind, tempera- 
ture, clouds, and rain; and if there is a barometer at hand, 
observe how it changes as the high and low pressure areas come 



WIND AND RAIN 57 

and go. A great aid to such a study will be found in the 
weather maps, on which are printed full information about the 
weather each day and predictions for the next day. See how 
nearly correct these predictions are. 



Questions. — (1) In what ways are winds important? (2) Ex- 
plain the sea breeze. (3) How are monsoons caused? (4) Where 
are they found? (5) Describe the circulation of the air in a room 
heated by a stove. (6) What is the cause of the trade winds? 
(7) Of the anti-trades? (8) What proofs have we that the anti- 
trades blow steadily? (9) What becomes of the air of the anti- 
trades? (10) Compare this circulation to tliat of air in a room. 

(11) What effect has rotation on the direction of these winds? 

(12) Why may .we feel certain that these winds are permanent? 

(13) What effect has revolution of the earth upon the position of the 
trade wind belts? (1-4) Describe the conditions in the belt of calms. 
(15) What effect has the change of seasons upon tlie position of this 
belt? (IG) What about the rainfall of eastern coasts in the trade 
wind belt? (17) Of western coasts? (18) In wliat way do the 
trade winds help to cause deserts? (19) What influence upon rain- 
fall has the change of the trade winds with the season? (20) What 
are the horse latitudes ? (21) What about the rainfall there? Why? 
(22) iSJame some desert sections in that belt. (23) AVhat are the pre- 
vailing westerlies? (24) Are they best developed on the land or 
the water? Why? (25) In the southern or northern hemisphere? 
Why? (2G) What effect have the prevailing westerlies upon rain- 
fall? Give examples. (27) What is the cause of the dry plains of 
the northwest? (28) Which winds are dry in northeastern United 
States? Why? (29) Which winds bring vapor? Why? (30) Men- 
tion several changes of weather that may often be noticed within a 
few days. (31) Tell some that you have recently noticed yourself. 
(32) What happens when there is a low pressure area surrounded 
by higher pressure? (33) What is a cyclonic storm? Of what 
importance are such storms? (34) Tell about their movement. 
(35) Tell about the rain. Whence does it come? Over how much 
country does it fall? (30) What changes in temperature occur? 
(37) Explain the two maps (Figs. 49 and 50). How are they differ- 
ent? IIow alike? (38) What are the duties of the Weather Bureau? 
(39) What are weather maps? (40) Of what value is the work of 
the Weather Bureau? 



58 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

Suggestions. — (1) Estimate the number of barrels of Avater that 
falls on an acre of ground, or iipon a city block, in one year, where the 
rainfall is forty inches. (2) How is a movement of air secured in 
your schoolroom in order to ventilate it? (3) Show on a map or 
globe where the trade wind belt is on the Atlantic; the belt of 
calms; the horse latitudes; the prevailing westerlies. (4) Inquire 
of some one who has been in the torrid zone about the winds and 
rains there. (5) Do the same for Arizona and southern California. 
(6) If you live in the northeastern states, watch how the winds blow 
before and after a storm. (7) Examine a map sent out by the 
Weather Bureau. Perhaps your teacher can have them sent regularly 
by writing to the AVeather Bureau at Washington. (8) Keep records 
of the weather. (9) Find a barometer and notice how it changes 
from day to day. (10) Write a description of a tornado from an 
account in the newspaper. (11) Read once more the section on "Air " 
in the First Book, page 71. (12) Write an account of the change in 
the weather for five days in succession: — the wind direction and 
force ; the clouds ; rain ; temperature ; and, if possible, the air press- 
ure. 

For References, see page 439. 



i 



IV. OCEAN MOVEMENTS AND DISTRIBUTION 
OF TEMPERATURE 



Like the air, the ocean water is in motion, its three 
principal movements being wind waves, tides, and ocean 
currents. 

Wind Waves 

Waves are formed by winds Avhicli blow over the surface of 
the water and ruffle it, sometimes, during storms, causing it to 
rise and fall from twenty to forty feet. 




Fig. 52. 

Surf oil the New Jersey coast, caused by the breakiug of the waves as they 
approach the beach. 

In the open ocean, waves are rarely very dangerous to large 
vessels ; but upon the seashore, they do great damage to ves- 
sels and even to the coast itself, wearing away the rocks and 
dragging the fragments out to sea. The constant beating of 
the waves (Fig. 52) is slowly eating the coast away. 

59 



60 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



Tides 

What the Tides are. — People living upon the seacoast 
are familiar with the fact that the ocean water rises for 
about six hours and then slowly falls. This rising and fall- 
ing of the water 
twice each day 
forms what is 
known as the tide. 
For a long time it 
puzzled men to ex- 
plain this : it was 
called the breath- 
ing of the earth, 
and by certain un- 
civilized races it 
is to this day thought to be caused by some great animal. 
As a result of careful study, we have learned that the 
tides are caused , 




Fig. 53. 
High tide on a part of the New England coast. 



by the moon and 
the sun, espe- 
cially the former. 
Each of these 
bodies is pulling 
upon the earth, 
by the attraction 
of gravitation, as 
a horseshoe mag- 
net pulls upon a 
piece of iron. When the sun and moon pull upon the 
earth, the ocean, being a liquid that can be moved, is 
drawn slightly out of shape. This causes two great 




Fig. 54. 

The same region as Figure 53 at low tide, 
pare the two figures. 



Com- 



OCEAN MOVEMENTS 



61 



swells, or waves (Fig. 55), many hundreds of miles broad, 
which pass around the earth, following the moon. When 




Fig. 55. 

A diagram to show how the moon pulls upon the earth and causes the tide 
waves. Of course their height is not so great as the diagram suggests. 

these swells reach the shores, they cause the rise of water 
known as the tide. 

Height of the Tidal Wave. — The tidal wave is only 
two or three feet high upon headlands which project into 
the open ocean ; but it rises 
a great deal higher in many 
bays. There the wave is 
raised higher because the 
space that it occupies be- 
comes narrower near the 
head of the bay. In some 
such places, as in the Bay 
of Fundy, the tide reaches a height of forty or fifty feet 




Fig. 56. 

Position of earth, moon, and sun at new 
moon, when spring tides are caused 
by sun and moon pulling together. 




Fig. 57. 

Earth, sun, and moon at the quarter of 
the moon, when sun and moon do 
not pull together. 



The height of the tide also 
varies from day to day, for 
the moon and sun, which com- 
bine to form it, do not always 
work together. At new moon 
and full moon, when the earth, 
moon, and sun are nearly in 
one line (Fig. 56), the moon 
and sun pull together and 
make the tidal wave higher 



62 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



than at the quarter, when the moon is forming a tidal wave in 
one place and the sun in another (Fig. 57). The high range 
of tides at full and new moon are called spring tides, those at 
the quarters, neap tides. 

Effects of Tides. — In the open ocean the tides are of no 
importance, and a sailor might spend weeks at sea without 
ever knowing that there were tides. But along the coast, 
where the water rises and falls against the beaches and cliffs, 
the tides are very noticeable (Figs. -53, 54) and important. 



m 


^^^s 


It'""-" '"^''-^ ^t^-*^^ 






^;^4r*-^»Si.^ _ -.;^-«t--:r- -:^ - 



Fig. 58. 

Sandy Hook, on the south side of New York Bay, built of sand driven along by 
the waves and tidal currents, and then piled into sand dunes by the wind. 

Where the coast is irregular, the tide is often changed 
to a current^ which sometimes moves so rapidly that a sail- 
ing vessel cannot make headway against it, but must wait 
until the tide changes. Such a rapid current is found in 
one of the entrances to New York harbor, at what is known 
as Hell Gate, where the channel is narrow and rocky. 

These tidal currents, moving in one direction during the in- 
coming OT flood tide, and in the opposite direction during the 
outgoing or ebb tide, not only aid ships which are going with 
them, and retard those going against them, but they sometimes 



OCEAN MOVEMENTS 63 

drift vessels out of their course and place them in dangerous 
positions. ^Nlany a ship has been lost by being wrecked upon 
a coast where it was drifted by the tidal currents. 

Another effect of the tidal currents is upon the harbors. 
These currents often carry sand hither and thither (Fig. 
58), and build bars opposite the mouths of harbors. This 
is one of the reasons why the harbors of our Southern 
States are no better (p. 20). In order to prevent some of 
them from being entirely shut in by bars, the govern- 
ment is obliged to spend large sums of money every year 
in order to remove the sand brought by the tidal currents. 

OcEAK Currents 

Cause of Ocean Currents. — The winds which blow over 
the ocean, forming waves, also drive the water before them. 
You may do this in a small way by blowing on the surface 
of a pail of water. This starts a current, or drift, of sur- 
face water in the direction that the air is moving. Where 
the winds are steady, as in the trade wind belts, or mod- 
erately steady, as in the prevailing westerlies, there is a 
permanent drift of water, pushed along by the prevailing 
winds. These form the great system of ocean currents (Fig, 
59) which have such an important influence on the earth. 

Differences of temperature are also a cause of some move- 
ment, as in the case of the air. But since the sunlight cannot 
reach to the bottom of the ocean, the water there is not warmed, 
as the lower layers of the air are. Therefore a circulation ex- 
actly like that of the atmosphere is not found in the ocean. 
There is, however, a slow settling of cold water in the frigid 
zones, a movement along the ocean bottom, and a very slow 
rising in the torrid bolt. While this movement is so slight that 
it can scarcely be noticed, it is because of this drift of water 



64 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

that the temperature of the ocean bottom is so low. Even at 
the equator, the temperature of the ocean bottom is nearly 
at the freezing point. 

The North Atlantic Eddy. — Let us now study the main 
ocean currents on each side of North America (Fig. 59). 

In that part of the Atlantic where the trade Mdnds 
blow (Fig. 44, p. 48), the surface water drifts slowly in 
the direction of the trade winds ; that is, toward the belt 
of calms. It then moves westward, as a great equatorial 
drifts until the easternmost extremity of South America 
interferes with its course. There the drift of water is 
divided, a part being turned southward, while the greater 
portion proceeds northwestward. 

The part which flows northward is deflected toward the 
right by the effect of rotation, as the winds are (p. 43) ; 
and the part which flows into the South Atlantic is turned 
to the left, also by the effect of rotation. Therefore, the 
northern drift, instead of coming near to the mainland of 
North America, keeps turning to the right, crossing the 
Atlantic to Europe. It then passes southward, and finally 
returns to the trade wind belt where it started, having 
made a complete circuit. 

Coming from the equatorial region, this water is warm, and 
in it live countless millions of animals and floating plants. 
Among the latter, one of the most abundant is a seaweed, 
called Sargassum, which is thrown into the middle of this 
great eddy. There it has collected until it now forms a 
" grassy " or *' Sargasso " sea hundreds of miles in extent. 
Since the " Sargasso " Sea lies directly between Spain and the 
West Indies, Columbus was obliged to cross it on his first 
voyage of discovery; and his sailors, upon entering it, were 
much alarmed lest they might run aground, or become so en- 
tangled in the weed that they could not escape. 


























^9 
.i; o 

2: a 
I " 



gs 



O OS 






c« ^ 



S (O 

o ^, 

is 



66 . A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

As the drift of warm water eddies round toward the 
European coast, it carries some of the warmth of the torrid 
zone to that continent. This is one of the reasons why 
the climate of northern Spain is warmer than places in the 
United States at the same distance from the equator. 

The Gulf Stream. — A portion of the drift of water 
which moves northward along the northern coast of South 
America enters the Caribbean Sea and then passes into the 
Gulf of Mexico. This is a broad, deep, gently flowing cur- 
rent ; and it is so nearly surrounded by the warm tropical 
lands that it grows even warmer than when it entered the 
Caribbean. After swirling round the Gulf of Mexico, it 
escapes between Cuba and Florida, after which it is known 
as the Crulf Stream (Fig. 59) because it comes from the 
Grulf of Mexico. Being forced to pass out through so nar- 
row an opening, its rate of movement is much increased — 
even to four or five miles per hour — as water in a hose is 
made to increase its speed by passing through the nozzle. 
Measure the distance from Key West to Havana (Fig. 95). 

Being turned to the right by the effect of the earth's 
rotation, the Gulf Stream soon leaves the American coast 
and flows northeastward toward northern Europe. It 
broadens rapidly and joins forces with the western part of 
the great Atlantic eddy. In crossing the Atlantic, the 
drift is pushed along by the prevailing westerlies, so that 
it reaches the shores of northern Europe, and even enters 
the Arctic Ocean. Some idea of its size may be gained 
from the fact that it carries many times as much water as 
all the rivers of the world. 

The Labrador Current. — After being cooled, some of 
this water settles to the bottom and finds its way back to 
the torrid zone in the slow drift cf cold water which is 



OCEAN MOVEMENTS 



67 



forever moving along the ocean bottom from the frigid 
zone toward the equator (p. 63). But much of it returns 
at the surface, for there is a cold surface current, called 
the Labrador current^ passing southward along our north- 
eastern coast (Fig. 59). 

The Labrador current flows down from among the 
islands of North America, past the coast of Labrador, New- 



foundland, 




Nova Scotia, and New England. 
Like all ocean currents in the 
northern hemis[)]iere, it is 
turned toward the right, 
that is, since it flows 
southward, toward the 
west. This causes 
it to follow our 
coast very close- 
ly, keeping 
nearer our 
shore than 
.«r the Gulf 

Streani does. 

Fig. f)0. 

Since there 
are two cur- 
rents near to- 
gether, a cold one from the north, and a warm one from the 
south, a vessel sailing from Boston to England must cross both. 
Duj'ing winter storms a ship often becomes covered with snow 
and ice while in the cold Labrador current, but loses this coat- 
ing soon after entering the Gulf Stream. 

Where the cold and warm currents come near together, a 
dense fog is pi-oduced. You can doubtless explain why that is 
so (see First Book, p. 77). Sailors who cross the Atlantic liave 
learned to expect heavy fogs as they pass near tlie coast of 



Au Arctic whaling steamer Imprisoned, off the coast of 
Baffin Land, in the floe ice which is being carried 
southward in the Labrador current. 



68 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

JsTova Scotia and ISTewfoundland, which is one of the foggiest 
regions in the world. 

The Currents in the Pacific Ocean. — In the Pacific Ocean, 
as in the Atlantic (Fig. 59), the water drifts westward in 
the belt of calms ; then a broad, warm current swings to 
the right past Japan, crossing the ocean toward Alaska, 
as the Gulf Stream crosses the Atlantic toward Europe. 
This, called the Japanese current, carries much warmth 
from the torrid zone to the North Pacific, as the Gulf 
Stream does to the North Atlantic. Continuing to turn 
to the right, this current passes southward to complete 
the great eddy. There is another eddy in the South 
Pacific, similar to that in the South Atlantic. 

We see from what has been said, that, although the Gulf 
Stream flows past the Southern States, the northeastern 
coast of North America is bathed by an ocean current 
from the cold north. On the other hand, the northwestern 
coasts of Europe and North America are approached b}' 
warm currents from the south. That is, because of the 
earth's rotation, the warmer water is swung to the west- 
ern coasts of the continents rather than to the eastern. 

The Importance of these Currents. — The facts just stated 
are of great importance to us. Since the Gulf Stream 
crosses the Atlantic in a northeasterly direction, it hin- 
ders the passage of vessels bound westward, or agamst its 
current. Benjamin Franklin noticed this effect of tlie 
current when he was Postmaster General of the Ameri- 
can Colonies shortly before the Revolutionary War. He 
arranged for the carrying of the mails by ship between 
England and America, and one fact that he observed was 
that vessels went to Europe in less time than they re- 



OCLAN MOVEMENTS 



69 



turned. After studying the matter carefully, he decided 
that tlie Gulf Stream drift was the cause. 

While this ocean drift is a hindrance to vessels sailing 
against its current, it is in other respects of great service. 
From its warm waters the air obtains much vapor, which 
falls as rain in the United States and Europe ; and in its 
warm current a vast amount of heat is carried northward. 
When Nansen started on las famous journey toward the 
north pole, he entered the Arctic Ocean with this current. 
Thus, since its warm water keeps that part of the Arctic 
free from ice in summer, he was able to proceed much 
farther tlian he otherwise could have gone. 




Fig. 01. 
Icebergs that have broken off from the Greenland glacier. 

The Labrador current flows as far south as Cape Cod, so 
that the Avater north of this promontory must be cooler than 
that south of it. As the cold current leaves the Arctic region, 
it bears with it much sea ice which has been frozen during the 
preceding winters (Fig. 60), and also gigantic icebergs which 
have broken off from the Greenland glacier (Fig. 61). It is 
upon this drifting ice that the polar" bear spends much of his 
time hunting for seals which live in great numbers in the ice- 
covered waters (Fig. 62). 



70 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



The icebergs may be carried southward one or two thousand 
miles before the air and water melt them away (see limit of ice- 
bergs on Fig. 59). Indeed, some icebergs float even as far south 
as the paths followed by vessels which cross the Atlantic. Since 
many bergs are larger than the greatest building in the world, 
collision with one means shipwreck ; therefore sailors need to 
use great caution, especially when the ship is in the fog. 




Fig. 62. 
Polar bear and seal on the floe ice of the Labrador current. 

The cold Labrador current affects the temperature upon 
the land. Winds blowing over it carry the chill far in- 
land. This is one of the reasons why the east winds of 
New England are so cool and why the New England coast 
is such an agreeable summer resort. 

The warm Japanese current of the Pacific Ocean 
renders the southern part of Alaska far warmer than 
southern Labrador, which is farther south ; and the pre- 
vailing westerlies bring an abundance of vapor to the Pa- 



DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE 71 

cific coast all the way from California to Alaska. Where 
these winds blow, the winters are mild and the rain heavy ; 
but the summers are cool and pleasant, because the ocean 
water, though warm, does not become greatly heated. 
Notice on a globe that the state of Washington, with its 
pleasant climate, is about tlie same distance from the 
equator as the bleak island of Newfoundland, whose shores 
are bathed by the cold Labrador current. 

The world, as a whole, as well as certain small sections, 
is greatly influenced by these ocean currents. It has been 
estimated that the Gulf Stream drift carries one-half as 
much heat into the Arctic as reaches it from the direct rays 
of the sun. In this way a great deal of northern country, 
which would otherwise be scarcely habitable, is made to 
support vast numbers of people. Notice on a map how 
many large cities are in that part of northern Europe which 
is the same distance from the equator as desolate Labrador. 

Besides thus influencing many parts of the earth, the warm 
currents have helped to form a great number of islands. Where 
warm currents flow, the water is often warm enough for corals 
to live ; and, since the moving water brings to them an abun- 
dance of tiny animals for food, colonies of corals flourish, 
and their skeletons gradually form reefs. In this way the 
southern half of Florida, the Bahamas, the Bermudas, and 
many of the islands in the South Pacific were built. 

Distribution of Temperature 

In general, it is true that the farther north we travel 
from the equator, the colder it grows ; but this is by no 
means always the case. If the earth were made of one 
solid, level substance, like glass, tlie temperature tcould 
gradually decrease from the equatou- to the poles. Then 



T2 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



all points tlie same distance from the equator, as all on 
the Tropic of Cancer, or all on the Arctic Circle, for 
instance, would have the same temperature. 

But we have seen that there are several causes which 
interfere with this regular decrease in temperature toward 
the poles. For example, high mountains have a cold cli- 




FiG. 63. 

Isothermal chart of the United States for January. Why is it colder in the 
interior than on the east coast ? Why so warm on the west coast ? Can 
you notice any influence of mountains ? 

mate, even though in the torrid zone ; and, for the same 
reason, plateaus may be colder than lowlands far north of 
them. 

Besides that, land warms and cools much more rapidly 
than water (p. 39), so that land becomes hotter in sum- 
mer and colder in winter than the ocean. Thus, in north- 
ern Minnesota, far from the coast, tlie average temperature 



DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE 



73 



in January is below zero, while in July it is about 65° 
(Figs. 63 and 64). In New York City, on the coast, the 
average in January is about 25°, and in July not quite 75°. 
On the west coast, in the state of Washington, where the 
winds are blowing from the ocean, the average tempera- 
ture for January is 40° and for July 00°. 




Fig. 64. 

Isothermal chart of the United States for July. Notice the influence of the 
Rocky Mountains. Of the Appalachians. Why is it cooler on the west 
coast than on the east coast? What makes the isotherms bend northward 
in the Mississippi Valley ? 

At Key West,- Florida, which is surrounded by water, 
the average temperature in January is about 70°, and in 
July about 85°. Where the temperature changes but lit- 
tle, the climate is said to be equable. Compare San Fran- 
cisco and St. Louis in the two cliarts (Figs. 63 and 64). 

The winds greatly influence the temperature. Where 



74 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

they blow from the ocean, they cause an equable climate, 
as in California, near San Francisco ; but where they blow 
from the land, they are cool or cold in winter and warm 
in summer. This is true of the Eastern States, where 
most of the winds blow from the land, though some of the 
damp winds come from the ocean. 

Another cause for different temperatures in places 
equally distant from the equator is found in the ocean 
currents. We have already seen, that the Gulf Stream 
warms the air, while the cold Labrador current cools it, 
and that this air in movement forms warm and cold winds 
(p. 70). 

If, therefore, we were to draw a line across the conti- 
nent, connecting several points that have the same aver- 
age temperature during any one month, or during the 
entire year, it would need to be a very crooked one, with 
some parts reaching much farther north than others. Such 
lines tell so much about temperature in so little space that 
it is the custom to make maps to show them, as in Figures 
63 and 64. Since the lines connect the places having the 
same temperature, they are called isothermal lines or iso- 
therms. (The first part of the word means equal, and the 
latter part heat.') A map or chart showing the isotherms 
is called an isothermal chart (Figs. 63 and 64). Trace 
several of the isotherms across the United States, and ex- 
plain why they bend as they do. 

Eeview Questions : Waves and Tides. — (1) Of what importance 
are the waves ? (2) How often does the tide rise and fall ? (3) What 
causes it ? (4) What causes it to vary in height from place to place ? 
(5) From time to time ? (6) What important effects have tides ? 

Ocean Currents. — (7) Explain how winds help to produce ocean 
currents. (8) What is the cause of the cold water on the ocean 
bottom? (9) Describe the drift of tropical waters in the Atlantic. 



DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE 75 

(10) Trace the drift which passes outside of the AVest Indies to the 
European coast. (11) Describe the Gulf Stream. (12) Describe the 
Labrador current, (lo) Trace the warm Japanese current. (11) What 
parts of the coast of North America are bathed by warm currents? By 
cold currents? (15) Tell about the discovery of the Gulf Stream by 
Franklin. (IG) Of what importance is this current? (17) Tell about 
the ice which floats down with the Labrador current. (18) How does 
this current affect the climate of Xew England? (19) What influ- 
ence has the Japanese current on the climate of western North Amer- 
ica? (20) In what ways have the warm currents aided the building 
of many islands? 

Distrihution of Temperature. — (21) What .about the change in tem- 
perature from equator to poles if the earth were a round ball of glass ? 
(22) How is this change interfered with by elevation? (23) By 
distance from the ocean? (24) Give several examples. (25) What 
influence have the winds? (26) The ocean currents? (27) State 
several reasons why it is not always true that the farther north 
one goes, the colder it grows. (28) What is an isothernuil line? 
(29) An isothermal chart? 

Suggestions. — (1) If j'our home is npon the seacoast, find out 
about the high and low tides for several days in succession. (2) Notice 
the relation between the height and the time of high tide, on the one 
hand, and the changes in the moon, on the other. (3) From an al- 
manac find out what the time and height of tide will be for some day 
in the following month. Plow do you think this prediction is possi- 
ble? (4) Is the government obliged to spend money near your home 
to remove materials which the tidal currents have brought? (5) What 
course might a vessel take in order to be carried from Europe to 
America and back again by ocean currents? (G) What precautions 
do vessels take to avoid running into one another in dense fogs? 
(7) How do they try to avoid collisions with icebergs? (8) Learn 
more about Nansen's voyage. (9) Which of the isothermal lines on 
Figures 63 and 64 are nearest to your homo? (10) Wliich isotherm 
on Figure 03 runs hear New York and northern New ^lexico? 
Near Savannah and San Francisco? Through southern ]\[aine and 
southern Nebraska? (11) On Figure 04, which isotherm runs through 
northern Maine and San Francisco? (12) How about the distance of 
these points from the equator? 

For References, see page 439. 



V. CLIMATE, PLANTS, ANIMALS, AND 
PEOPLES 




NortheriJ Temp. 
I I .Middle Temperato. 



T=r South Tom 
p??| Tropical. 



Fig. 65. 



A map of North America, to show the four 
plant zones. Notice how irregular the 
boundaries are. Compare it with the 
isothermal chart, Figure 64, to see 
the cause. Also examine the relief map 
of North America, Figure 5. 

76 



Climate. — We have 
learned in the previous 
sections that several 
factors combine to deter- 
mine the vi^eather and cli- 
mate of North America. 
The principal factors 
are (1) distance from the 
equator, (2) the changes 
of season, (3) eleva- 
tion of the land, (4) dis- 
tance from the ocean, 
(5) winds and storms, 
and (6) ocean currents. 
All these together de- 
termine the temperature 
and rainfall, which are 
the two most important 
elements of climate. 

The climate of a re- 
gion is one of the most 
important facts concern- 
ing it ; for where tem- 
perature and rainfall are 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 



77 



favorable, plants usually gi'uw luxuriantly. And since 
plants furnish animals with food, where vegetation is 
luxuriant, animal life may be abundant. 

Since North America extends far north and south, and 
possesses lofty mountain ranges and enclosed plateaus, 
it has a great variety of climates, and, therefore, a great 
variety of plant and animal life (Fig. 65). 

Plants of the North. — The northern part of the conti- 
nent is bitterly cold. In that region there is a vast area 
where the soil is 
always frozen, ex- 
cepting at the very 
surface, which 
thav/s out for a few 
weeks in summer. 
On account of the 
frost, trees such as 
we are familiar Avith 
cannot grow. Their 
roots are unable to 
penetrate the frozen 
subsoil and to 
find the necessary 
plant food. There 
are some willows, 
birches, and a few 
other plants with woody tissue, bark, leaves, and fruit ; 
but instead of towering scores of feet into the air, they 
creep along the surface like vines, and rise but an inch or 
two above ground. Only by thus hugging the earth can 
they escape the fierce blasts of winter and find protection 
beneath the snow. 




Fig. m. 

Arctic poppies growing on the edge of a snow- 
bank. 



78 A GENEBAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

A few grasses and small flowering plants grow rapidly, 
produce flowers, even close by the edge of snowbanks 
(Fig. 6Q^, and then pass away, all within the few short 
weeks of summer. Some of these plants produce berries, 
which after ripening are preserved by the snows ; thus, 
when the birds arrive in the spring, they find food ready 
for them. 

Animals of the North. — The summer development of 
insects is rapid, like the growth of plants. As the snow 
melts and the surface thaws, the ground becomes wet and 
swampy, and countless millions of insects appear. Among 
them the most common is, apparently, the mosquito. 
There are few parts of the world where this creature is a 
worse pest than on the barrens of North America and the 
tundras of Europe and Asia, as these treeless, frozen lands 
are called. 

Few large land animals are able to thrive in so cold a 
climate and where there is such an absence of plant food. 
The reindeer, or caribou, the musk-ox, polar bear, white 
fox, and Arctic hare are the largest four-footed land ani- 
mals (Fig. 67) ; and the crow, sparrow, and ptarmigan 
are the most common land birds. 

The ptarmigan changes its plumage to white in "w^inter, and 
other animals of the Arctic, such as the fox, polar bear, baby 
seal, and hare, are also white. This serves to conceal them, in 
that land of snow and ice, so that they may hide from their 
enemies, or steal upon their prey unawares. 

The tiny white fox feeds upon birds and other animal food ; 
but the other land animals, except the polar bear, live upon 
plants, such as berries, grass, and moss. The caribou finds a 
kind of plant, called " reindeer moss," which grows upon rocks 
that rise above the deep winter snows. If it were not for this, 
the reindeer would not be able to live through the long winter. 




:*\ 



ARCTIC FOX 



PTARMIGAN 




CARIBOU 



MUSK OX 



I^Tnt Mi4.Ca,Burr*u>. 



Fig. G7. 

Some of the animals of the North. Tlie great auk had such small wings that it could 
not fly. It was killed in great numbers by sailors, and has been completely 
exterminated. 



80 



A GENEBAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



While some animals live upon the land in the Arctic 
regions, many more have their homes in the sea, because 
there, excepting at the very surface, the temperature 
never descends below the freezing point. Therefore, 
there is plenty of animal life of all sizes, from the very 

tiniest forms to the 
whale, the largest 
animal in the world 
(Fig. 254, p. 326). 
During the winter 
the surface of the 
sea freezes over; 
and then many of 
the sea animals mi- 
grate southward. 
Even the huge wal- 
rus (Fig. 68) moves 
clumsily toward n 
more favorable cli- 
mate. The birds 
go farthest, espe- 
cially the geese, 
ducks, and gulls, which fly to Labrador, New England, 
North Carolina, and even farther south, to spend the win- 
ter where their food is not covered by ice. 

Sea birds exist by hundreds of thousands (Fig. 67), building 
their nests upon rocky cliffs in immense numbers. Indeed, 
they are so numerous that, when suddenly frightened, as by 
the firing of a gun, they rise in a dense cloud that obseures the 
sun. Then, by their cries they produce a din that is almost 
deafening. In the water live seals (Figs. 62 and 286) and wal- 
ruses, the former being so valuable for their oil and skins that 




Walrus ou the Arctic floe ice. 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 81 

men go on long voyages to obtain them. The oil comes from a 
layer of fat, or " blubber," just beneath the skin, that serves to 
keep out the cold. 

The seal is the most common of the Arctic sea animals, and 
is the principal food of the Eskimo and the polar bear 
(Fig. 62). The bear, protected from observation by his v.-hite 
color, stealthily creeps upon his prey, asleep upon the ice ; or, 
he patiently watches until his victim swims within reach, and 
then seizes him in his powerful claws. 

Life on Mountain Tops. — In many respects the life on moun- 
tain tops resembles that of the Arctic regions. On the crests of 
lofty mountains it is cold, and large animals are rare, while the 
plants resemble those of the cold North (Fig. 74). There are 
no trees, though creeping willows and birches abound. Indeed, 
some of the plants are actually the same as those of the North. 
For instance, on the top of Mt. Katahdin, jMaine, some of the 
plants are of the same species as those thriving in Labrador, 
Baffin Land, and Greenland. Arctic plants also occur on the 
mountain tops in North Carolina. 

Plants and Animals in Western North America. — A 
large area in western United States and Mexico has a 
very slight rainfall, although its temperature is agreeable. 
This arid area includes most of the territory having less 
than twenty inches of rain (Fig. 46, p. 50). In some 
places, as near the Pacific coast and uiion tlie mountain 
to[)S and liigli plateaus, there is rain enough for forests to 
thrive ; but in most parts of the Far West tlie climate is 
so dr}' that there are no trees whatsoever. Indeed, some 
portions of ther West are desolate in the extreme and 
almost devoid of life, both plant and animal ; in other 
words, they are true deserts. 

One common ])lant is the buncli grass, so called because 
it grows in little tufts or bunches. The sage bush, a plant 
with a pale green leaf, named because of its sagelike odor, 



82 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



is found throughout most of this arid region. Other 
common phmts are the mesquite, the century plant with 

its sharp- pointed leaves (Fig. 
304, p. 383), and the cactus 
with its numerous thorns. In 
favorable spots, especially in 
the warm southwest, the mes- 
quite grows to large size ; and 
the cactus, which in the north 
is always low and represented 
by only a few kinds, in the 
southwest, as in Arizona, 
grows in great variety and, in 
some cases, even to the height 
of trees (Figs. OOand 4r),p.40). 




Fig. m. 

Giant cactus in the desert of south- 
western Arizona. 

On account of the extreme 
dryness of the climate, tll(^se 
plants have a severe struggle 
for existence, and adopt pe- 
culiar means for protecting 
themselves. For example, the 
cactus, unlike other plants, 
has no leaves. It thus ex- 
poses little surface to the air 




Fig. 70. 
One of tbe peculiar plants of the arid 
lands, growing to the size of a tree 
in the warm, dry climate of southern 
Arizona. 



for evaporation. In its great, fleshy stem it stores water to use 
through the long, dry seasons, v/hile spines protect it from ani- 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 83 

mals in searcli of food. The inesquite also protects itself by 
spines, and in addition has such large roots that the part of 
the plant under ground is greater than that above. Many of 
these plants, as the mesquite, are so bitter that they are not 
eaten by animals. 

Animals eat few of the arid land plants except the 
grasses, which were once the food of the buffalo or bison 
(Figs. 71 and 76), and are now the support of cattle and 
sheep (Figs. 77 and 288, p. 362). The bison, whose home 




Fk;. 71. 
Photograph of a young bison. 

was on the prairies and the arid plains east of the Rocky 
Mountains, is now gone ; and few large animals are left 
in its place. The cowardly prairie wolf, or coyote^ and 
the graceful antelope and the rabbits upon which it feeds, 
are the most abundant (Fig. 72). Among the rabbits is 
the long-legged jack rabbit, which leaps across the plains 
with astonishing speed, with its huge ears thrown back 
so far that they do not retard its progress. 

The traveller through the arid lands meets with few more 
interesting creatures than the prairie dogs which live in small 
communities, called prairie-dog towns (Fig. 72). Their homes 




PRAIRIE DOG 



Fig. 72. 
Some of the animals of the plateaus and mountains of the Far West. 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 85 

are in the gvoimd and their food consists of grass. They do 
not ventnre far from their bnrrows for fear of the coyotes 
which may be hirking near ; and upon the least alarm they 
utter a shrill note and tumble headlong into their burrows. 

There are birds and some lower animals, as the poisonous 
tarantula, centipede and scorpion, besides snakes, especially 
the poisonous rattlesnake (Fig. 72), 

The fierce puma or raouiitain lion still lives among the 
mountains, and also the ugly cinnamon and grizzly bears 
(Fig. 72), though the latter are now rare and difficult to 
find. Deer and elk inhabit the forest-covered mountains 
of southern Canada and northwestern United States ; and 
among the higher peaks a few mountain goats and sheep 
still live on the more inaccessible rocky crags (Fig. 72). 
The sheep have huge horns much prized by hunters. 

Plants and Animals of the Tropical Zone. — Contrast 
the life in the frozen North and the arid West with that 
in Central America and southern Mexico. In these re- 
gions, which are situated in the torrid zone, the tempera- 
ture is always warm ; and the rainfall, especially on the 
eastern coast, is so heavy that all the conditions are favor- 
able for dense vegetation. 

Indeed, the tangle of growth in the forests is so great that 
it is practically impossible to pass through it without hewing 
one's way. Besides trees and underbrush, there are quantities 
of ferns, vineSj and flowers, many of which hang from the trees 
with their roots in the air instead of in the ground (Fig. 41, 
J). 4G). They are able to live this way on accoimt of the damp 
air. Among the trees are the valuable rosewood, mahogany, 
ebony, and rubber tree ; and among the flowers are the beauti- 
ful orchids. On account of the continual warmth and mois- 
ture, many plants, like the banana for instance, bear fruit 
throughout the year. 



86 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

In the midst of such luxuriant vegetation, animal life is 
wonderfully varied and abundant. There are the tapir, 
monkey, and jaguar (Fig. 73) ; brilliantly colored birds, 
such as parrots, paroquets, and humming birds ; and mil- 
lions of insects. Scorpions and centipedes abound, and 
ants exist in countless numbers, some in the ground, 
others in decayed vegetation. Serpents, some of them 
poisonous, are common in the forests ; and in the rivers 
are fish and alligators, the latter being found as far north 
as Florida and Louisiana. 

The plants and animals of the torrid zone are well adapted 
to their surroundings, like those of the Arctic and the desert. 
The jaguar and ocelot are speckled, or spotted,- like a surface 
upon which the sunlight plays when it has struck through 
deep shade; the brown alligator is in color much like the mud 
banks on which he lies ; and all the brilliantly colored animals 
are in harmony with the intense lights and the bright hues of 
tropical plants. This resemblance to their surroundings aids 
them in hiding, whether from their own enemies, or from the 
creatures which they are seeking for food. 

Plants and Animals in the Temperate Part of North 
America. — Between the frigid and torrid zones, and both 
east and west of the arid region, is an area of moderate 
rainfall and temperature where the vegetation and animals 
differ from those of the other sections. Beginning in the 
warm South and passing northward, we find that both 
animals and plants grow less numerous and less varied 
until, near the Arctic zone, they become scarce and few in 
kind. The pines and oaks of the United States give place 
to the spruce, balsam fir, and maple in Canada ; then 
these gradually become stunted and disappear (Fig. 74}, 
and beyond this the barrens are reached (p. 78). 




HUMMING BIRD 



kl>nH.W.Ca.Bur 



Fig. 73. 
A few of the auimals of the tropical foresta. 



88 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERIGA 



The animals that once inhabitetl the broad temperate 
zone have been mostly destroyed, although some still live 
in the forest and mountain region. They are carefully 
protected by state laws, which prohibit shooting except at 
certain seasons, and then only in small numbers. When 
America was first visited by Europeans, these woods 
abounded in deer, moose, caribou, wolves, and foxes (Fig, 
75). Beavers built dams across the streams, the mink 
and otter fished in the waters, and bears roamed at will. 





miH 


I^IP 


wamfmifi-fw^sY^n 


■man 




IHHHHIB 




1 


^ 




3 




■ 


^Sj^^^a^j'^^ 


^i^ 


Jl^l 


^^M*k''^^W 


^H 




hbhhh 


Bfes^r^^^^^^fi 


B 




M 






IH| 




hE 




Ksf 






^^JUl 



Fig. 74. 

Appearance of the trees at the tree line, both on the slopes of mountains and 
near the Arctic zone. 

Among the birds, the eagle was common (Fig. 75), and 
wild pigeons and turkeys were so abundant that they 
were one of the principal foods of the early settlers. 

Some believe that at one time most of eastern United States 
was wooded, including the fertile prairies of the Mississippi 
Valley, from which the trees were burned by fires set by the 
Indians. Grass then sprang up in place of the trees, and the 
prairies became the grazing place for immense herds of bison 
(Figs. 71 and 76). The bison, however, like the other animals 
mentioned, have been mostly destroyed ; thousands upon thou- 
sands were slaughtered for their hides and tongues alone, and 



TER 



,^ 








Fig. 75. 



Some of the animals of nortbeasteru United States and southeastern Canada. 



90 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



their bones left to whiten upon the plains. There are now no 
wild bison in the United States, except a few which are pro- 
tected by the government in the Yellowstone National Park. 
In this Park, where hunting is prohibited, are numbers of deer 




Fig. 76. 

One of the immense herds of bison that formerly roamed over the treeless 

plains. 

and elk (Fig. 72). There are also black, cinnamon, and grizzly 
bears, which are so tame that they come down to the hotels at 
night to feed upon the garbage. 

Cultivated Crops and Domesticated Animals. — A slow 
change lias been in progress in this temperate section, 
which, when first discovered, was clothed in forests and 
luxuriant prairie grass, and inhabited by Indians and wild 
beasts. The white man has come into possession of the 
land and has cleared the forests and ploughed the prairies, 
so that, where trees stood and Indians hunted game, there 
are now fertile farms and thriving cities. 

The laws of climate that determine what kinds of plants 
and animals shall live in the different sections, are also 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 



91 



governing man himself to a certain extent. He is able 
to raise sugar and cotton in the South ; but north of this 
there soon comes a belt where these crops cannot be raised, 
though corn may be produced. Still farther north, even 
corn cannot be grown, but oats, barley, and other hardy 
crops. Farther north still, man has been obliged to leave 
nature much as it always has been. In the arid lands, 
however, he has been able to raise products, even in the 
desert, wherever water can be led to the thirsty soil. 

His domesticated animals have also been influenced 
somewhat by surroundings. In the arid portions of the 




Fig. 77. 
Cattle feeding ou the Great Plains, -where the herds of bison formerly roamed. 

Far West, cattle have been allowed to roam in a semi-^^'ild 
state where the bison formerly lived. But in the more 
humid central, eastern, and southern sections, where the 
land is better suited to agriculture, cattle are more care- 
fully reared. Those in the West are raised principally 
for their meat and Iddes ; but those in the East furnish, 
in addition, milk for butter and cheese. 

Crops and domesticated animals well illustiate how man has 
learned to make use of nature for his needs. Every one of our 



92 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



cultivated plants was once a wild plant; and each of our 
domesticated animals has been tamed from the wild state. 
Most of these have come from Europe and Asia; but America 
has added some to the list. Among plants in common use, the 
Indian corn or maize, the tobacco, tomato, pumpkin, and potato 
were unknown to the Old World until America was discovered. 
The same is true of the turkey; and perhaps, in a hundred 
years or so, the bison may be included among the domesticated 
animals, for on the cattle ranches of the West a few small 
herds are being carefully reared. 



Peoples 

Eskimos. — America was inhabited for thousands of 
years before it was discovered by white men. To the 
natives in the southern part Columbus 
gave the name Indians, supposing he had 
reached India. Those in the Far North, 
Avho subsist on meat, are called Eski- 
mos, a word meaning flesh-eaters. 

To-day, in some places, the Eskimos 
live in very nearly the same condition as 
formerly, their climate being so severe 
that white men have not settled among 
them nor interfered Avith their customs. 
They still roam about in summer, living 
in skin tents, or tupics, and in winter 
erecting snow and ice huts, or igloos. (Fig. 
79), Their struggle is a hard one, for 
they not only liave to battle against cold, 
but also to obtain their food amid great 
difficulties. In this they are aided by their dogs, which 
are doubtless domesticated wolves, and which, like their 
masters, are able to subsist upon a meat diet and with* 




Fig. 78. 

A.n Eskimo woman 
carrying her baby 
in the sealskin 
hood on her back. 



PEOPLES 



93 




Fig. 79. 
Eskimo igloos iu Baffin Land. 

stand tlie severe Arctic cold. Every Eskimo man has his 
team of dogs to draw his sledge over the frozen sea. 

Indians. — Indians Avere originally scattered over most 
of the country south of the Arctic Circle. This is indi- 
cated by the places that bear Indian names, as Narragan- 
sett, Erie, Niagara, Huron, Ottawa, Illinois, Dakota, 
Pueblo, and Sioux City. Some of the tribes were true 
savages; others, not so savage, may be classed as barba- 
rians. They raised " Indian corn " and tobacco, baked 
pottery, used tools and weapons made of stone, and lived 
in villages. 

These two classes of Indians had no settled homes, but 
roamed about. They generally followed regular paths, how- 
ever, moving from place to place with the season. Their 



94 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



homes were skin tents commonly pitched in a group and form- 
ing a village. The women and children spent most of their 
time in the villages, near which were fields of Indian corn 
cultivated by the women. The men fished along the seashore, 
on the lakes, or on the rivers, and hunted in the forests or on 
the prairies. They travelled about through the woods, some- 
times along the rivers in their birch-bark canoes, sometimes 
on foot along narrow paths, or trails. 




Fig. 80. 

The pueblo of Taos in New Mexico. Notice the ladders leading to the roofs 
upon which are the house entrances. 

In southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central 
America the aborigines were more civilized. Much of that 
region is arid ; but the Indians raised crops by irrigation, 
and built fortresses of stone and sun-clried brick (Fig. 80). 
These were erected partly as homes for protection from 
surrounding savages, and partly as storehouses for grain. 

The most noted among these Indians were the Aztecs, 
who occupied the city of Mexico and some of the neigh- 



PEOPLES 



95 



boring country. They 
had government and re 
ligion much better dew,'!- 
oped than the barbarous 
and savage tribes. Ihey 
mined gold and silver 
and manufactured the 
metals into various arti- 
cles ; they wove blank- 
ets, and ornamented 
their pottery and their 
buildings in an artistic 
manner. Living the quiet 
life of the farmer, the 
Aztecs preferred peace 





Fig. 81. 
Indian blankets, woven by one of the 
tribes near the boundary line between 
New Mexico and Arizona. 



Fig. 82. 

Indian carrying a decorated 
pottery jar. 



to war, and a settled home to the 
nomadic life of tlie hunter. But 
even these Indians were not truly 
civilized ; they lacked many of the 
arts of civilization, as for instance, 
that of writing, though they, to- 
gether with other Indians, were able 
to convey their ideas by drawing 
pictures. 

While some tribes thus approached 
a state of civilization, the Indians, as a 
race, never became a powerful people. 
For this there are several reasons. In- 
stead of forming one great confodoracy 
and living at peace with one another, 
they were divided into many tribes. 



96 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



Each tribe had a certain area over which it could roam and hunt ; 
but if it encroached upon its neighbors, war followed. Under 
these circumstances it Avas difficult for one tribe to advance to 
a much higher state of civilization than the others. 

The level nature of the country rendered this difficulty all 
the greater. Had the surface of North America been very 
mountainous, some tribes might have been so protected by 
surrounding mountain walls as to dare to devote themselves 

to other work than war. Then 
they might gradually have 
collected wealth and devel- 
oped important industries ; 
but the vast plains of the Mis- 
sissippi Valley, which make 
up so much of the continent, 
and the extensive plains and 
low mountains of the East, 
allowed little protection. If 
any one tribe had built good 
homes on these plains, and 
collected treasures within 
them, the neighboring Ind- 
ians would have felt that a 
special invitation had been ex- 
tended to attack them. The 
Aztecs were continually in 
danger from this cause. However, the fact that they were 
partly protected by mountains and deserts, especially in south- 
ern Mexico, was one of the reasons why they were more civil- 
ized than the Indians of the northeast. 

Another serious obstacle to the advancement of the Indians 
was the fact that they possessed no domestic animals for use 
m agriculture. The horse, cow, ass, sheep, goat, and hog were 
unknown to them ; and, without these, farm work becomes the 
worst drudgery, because every product must be raised by hand. 
It is not surprising, then, that the men left the farming to the 
squaws, while they spent their time in war and in hunting. 




Fig. 83. 

Indian woman carrying her baby, or 
paj)poose. 



PEOPLES 97 

Again, although there was much game, the supply was never 
sufficie))t to support a dense population for a long period. 
Even the scattered Indian population was obliged to wander 
about in search of it. This prevented them from living quietly 
and finding time for improvement. All these facts worked 
against the advancement of the Indians ; but they proved of 
great advantage to the whites, making it far easier than it would 
otherwise have been for them to obtain possession of America. 

The Spaniards. — The astonishment of Europe was 
great when it was proved that there were vast territories 
on this side of the Atlantic. America Avas pictured as 
containing all sorts of treasures, and European nations 
vied with one another in fitting out expeditions to take 
possession of them. 

The Spaniards naturally led, for they were then one of 
the most powerful nations of Europe and had sent out 
Columbus as their representative. Leaving Palos in Spain 
on his iirst voj-age, he came within reach of the trade winds, 
which carried him southwestward to one of the West 
Indies, a point much farther south than Spain itself. Find 
on a globe the point on our coast that is about as far north 
as Madrid. Had Columbus started from England, he 
would have sailed into the prevailing westerlies, instead of 
the trade winds ; and, although tlie distance is shorter, the 
voyage would have required a much longer time. Why ? 

The section reached by the Spaniards had a climate 
similar to that of their own country, and they easily made 
themselves at liome tliere and soon came into possession 
of most of South America, Central America, Mexico, and 
southwestern United States. They had one advantage 
over the English and French who settled farther north : 
the portion of the continent that they discovered is so 

H 



98 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

narrow that they easily crossed it, and thus enjoyed the 
privilege of exploring the Pacific coast also. It was be- 
cause of this fact that the Spanish race settled the western 
coast as far north as San Francisco. 

After robbing the Aztecs of immense quantities of gold and 
silver, the Spanish converted the natives to Christianity, and 
introduced many Spanish laws and customs. They cruelly 
mistreated the natives, killing many and enslaving others, and 
forcing them to work in the mines and fields. They almost 
completely exterminated the Indians who lived in the West 
Indies. While the invaders were able to conquer the semi- 
civilized Aztecs and the barbarians of the islands, they made 
very little progress in subduing the more savage tribes. To 
this day, in fact, there are tribes of Indians in Mexico and 
Central America that have never been conquered, and that 
frequently cause trouble. 

The French. — The French began their settlements in 
a very different quarter, being first attracted to our coast 
by the excellent fishing on the Newfoundland banks. 
Soon the fur trade with the Indians proved profitable, and 
the French took possession of Nova Scotia and the region 
along the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. 

The value of the fur trade, and a desire to convert the 
Indians to Christianity, led the French far into Wisconsin 
and to the head waters of the Mississippi River. Making 
their way southward to the mouth of that river, they took 
possession of the whole Mississippi Valley (Fig. 84), and 
called it Louisiana in honor of their great king, Louis 
XIV. In order to hold this vast territory, they estab- 
lished a chain of trading posts and forts from the Gulf of 
Mexico to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. One of the most im- 
portant of these forts stood where Pittsburg now stands. 



PEOPLES 



99 



Wliat special advantage Iiad the French for reaching so 
much of the interior of the continent ? Why should they not 
have proceeded westward to the Tacilic ? Many places in the 
St. Lawrence and Mississippi valleys still preserve French 
names, as Lake Champlain, Marquette in Michigan, La Salle 
in Illinois, St. Louis, and New Orleans. 

The English. — The Spanish and French left only a 
narrow strip along the Atlantic coast for other nations. 
Among those who attempted settlements were the Dutch 
in New York and the Swedes in Delaware. But the 
English, set- 
tling at various 
points along the 
coast, soon ob- 
tained the lead. 
They captured 
New York City 
(then called New 
Amsterdam) 
from the Dutch, 
and extended 
their settle- 
ments along 
most of the coast 
from Florida to 
Nova Scotia. 




Fig. 84. 

Map showing the claims of France, England, and 
Spain upon the teiTitory of Central North Amer- 
ica in 17G0. 



In several re.spects the portion that fell to the English 
seemed much less desirable than that held by the Spanish 
and French ; yet the English speaking race has managed, 
not only to retain this, but to add to it most of the posses- 
sions of the other two. At the present time, the control 
of the entire continent, with the exception of Mexico, 

iL %ii v., 



100 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



Central America, and a few small islands, is in the hands 
of either the United States or Great Britain. 

There are, of course, good reasons for this strange result. 
No doubt original differences between these three races is one 
cause ; but there are others also. In the case of the Spanish, 
the climate has been one factor; for in a large part of their 
territory the weather is too warm to produce energetic people. 
In very cold countries, as in the land of the Eskimos, so much 
labor is required in merely obtaining food and shelter, that 
little time and strength are left for general improvement. 
The struggle is too severe to allow progress. 

In warm countries, on the other hand, the same effect is 
produced, but in the opposite way. So little energy is required 
to find sufficient food that the people do not need to exert 
themselves, and hence do not. By taking a few steps, the 
Central American can find bananas and other nourishing food 
.at almost any season of the year; why then should he work? 
The people, therefore, lose the inclination to bestir themselves, 

or, in other words, become 
too lazy to improve their 
condition. 

Another reason -why the 
Spaniards have not devel- 
oped is found in their 
relation to the Indians. 
Although robbing and en- 
slaving them, they at the 
same time married them 
freely, so that, in time, 
half-breeds have copie to 
make up more than half the 
population. These half- 
breeds are an ignorant class, far inferior to the Spaniards them- 
selves, and so backward (Fig. 85) that they still follow many 
of the customs of the Aztecs. 

The French likewise intermarried with the Indians and 




Fig. 85. 

A primitive Mexican cart with wooden 
wheels, such as can still he seen in that 
country. 



PEOPLES 101 

adopted some of their customs, although not to so great an ex- 
tent as the Spaniards. Their climate was, on the whole, more 
favorable than that of the Spanish; for, though cold in the 
St. Lawrence Valley, the temperature was conducive to effort. 
But one of their greatest difficulties arose from the fact that 
the few scattered settlers were unable to protect all of the vast 
territory to which they laid claim. 

As for the English, the temperate climate of their section is 
the best in the world for the development of energy. The 
warm summers allowed abundant harvests ; but the long, cold 
winters forced the settlers to exert themselves to store supplies 
for the cold season. Since it required only a reasonable amount 
of labor to obtain the necessities of life, time and energy were 
still left for improvement. 

In their treatment of the Indians, the English and French 
were less cruel than the Spaniards ; but, unlike both French 
and Spanish, the English would not intermarry with savages. 
Consequentlv, in the wars with the French, the English were 
not hampered by great numbers of half-civilized persons, and 
could act with more intelligence, speed, and force. Their rela- 
tion to the Indians, however, placed them at a disadvantage in 
one respect ; for, during the fights with the French, a majority 
of the Indians were allies to those with Avhom they had inter- 
married, and, hence, were friends to the enemies of the English. 

The fact that the English were hemmed in by forest-covered 
mountains on the west, and by the French and Spanish on the 
north and south, also proved an advantage ; for on that account 
they were kept close together, and were easily able to com- 
bine their forces when wars arose. 

These are some of the reasons why the English-speaking 
race has won its way on the continent against both Spanish 
and French. Spain has steadily lost ground, having recently 
given up Cuba and Porto Rico to the United States ; and France 
has had no claim upon the continent since 1803. The Spanish 
race still occupies Mexico and Central America, while French is 
even now spoken by many people in New Orleans, Quebec, and 
Montreal. 



102 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 




1 I No settlers except Indians who roamed about. 

V'^.'/\ Sfattered settlements, siiuh as forts, pioneer houses and small villageo. 
f;«<S Fairly well settled. 

P^^ Most densely aettled portioa. More than 90 people living on 
every square mile. 

Fig. 86. 

Map to show the settled part of the 
United States in 1790. Notice the 
cities named ; each of these had over 
5000 inhabitants. Which are now 
among the great cities of the country ? 
What about Chicago ? 



thusiastic reports quickly 
drew hundreds of thou- 
sands after them. 

The westward advance 
pushed the frontier line 
on and on until the semi- 
arid plains of the West 
were reached. Then, in 
1848, the discovery of gold 
in California produced a 
wave of excitement that 
carried hosts of adven- 



Westward Migration. 

— After the Revolution- 
ary War, by which the 
Thirteen Colonies gained 
their independence from 
Great Britain, an active 
westward movement be- 
gan. For a long time 
the Appalachian Moun- 
tains had stemmed the 
tide of migration (Fig. 
86) . But at last numbers 
of pioneers found their 
way, along the river val- 
leys, to the other side of 
these mountains. There 
they discovered fertile 
plains, free from rocks 
and woods, and ready for 
the plough; and their en- 




FiG. 87. 

A stage coach used three-quarters of a 
century ago to travel through the 
wilderness of western New York. 



PEOPLES 103 

turers across the Rockies to the Pacific coast. After this 
the western part of the United States was rapidly ex- 
plored and settled. 

Indian Reservations. — Through this movement the Indians 
found themselves driven from their hunting grounds, and their 
resentment toward the whites led to many a massacre. However, 
they were outnumbered by civilized people, and, in spite of their 
stealth, courage, and endurance, were soon a conquered race. 

It has been necessary to confine the Indians to certain regions, 
called Indian reservations, in various parts of the East and 
West. There are small ones in Maine, New York, and Florida, 
and larger ones in the West ; but the largest is Indian Terri- 
tory, just north of Texas. 

In collecting the Indians upon reservations it was intended 
to encourage them to adopt civilized customs, to build homes, 
and to cultivate the soil. For that purpose the government 
has placed Indian agents upon the reservations to supply the 
Indians with necessary articles, such as farming tools, seed, 
clothes, and, in time of need, food also. Often each Indian is 
assigned a small farm to cultivate as he chooses, and his chil- 
dren are sometimes forced to attend a school. 

While the plan has worked well in some cases, for the most 
part it has proved a dismal failure. The Indians have been 
roaming about for too many generations for all of them to be 
ready to settle down peaceably and toil at farming. jMany of 
them are too lazy for this kind of work ; and, even after taking 
the trouble to prepare the ground and sow the seed, they some- 
times abandon their crops in order to hunt and fish. 

The government system of supplying them with necessaries 
encourages them in their shiftlessness, for they know that 
when winter comes they will not be allowed to starve. Other 
reasons for the failure are, unfortunately, dishonesty of the 
Indian agents in some cases, and also the failure of the govern- 
ment to carry out its agreement with the Indians. In other 
cases, the allotment of poor land to the Indians has caused 
trouble. We owe it to the red men to see that they are offered 



104 A GENEBAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

every chance to rise to civilization, and the reservation system 
has not led to that result. 

There are, of course, numerous exceptions, for many tribes 
and individuals have greatly profited from government aid. 
Some have shown themselves capable of a high degree of civil- 
ization, as is proved by the students in the Indian schools at 
Hampton, Virginia, and Carlisle, Pennsylvania. A better sys- 
tem of treatment for the Indians is now being tried ; that is, 
to do away with reservations, to supply each Indian with a 
farm, and to force him to depend upon himself. 

Slavery. — While the Indians of the East were being 
killed in war and driven westward, negroes were being 
brought from Africa. There are now fully eight million 
blacks in the United States, which is nearly one-ninth 
of our entire population, and thirty times the number of 
Indians. 

Slavery was first introduced into America by the Span- 
iards, who made slaves of the Indians, and afterward 
imported negroes from Africa. The first negro slaves in 
the British colonies were brought to Virginia in 1619, but 
their number increased very slowly until the close of that 
century. The demand for cheap labor was partly supplied 
by criminals sent over from England, and by other immi- 
grants who gave their services for a few years in pay- 
ment for their passage across the sea. ]\Iany of these 
were men and women of good character, Avho became re- 
spectable citizens. Many others, however, were outcasts 
from society. 

As the settlement of Virginia increased, and slave labor was 
substituted for that of the " poor whites," the latter, often the 
descendants of the bond-servant of early days, sought refuge 
on the southern and western frontier. Some of the descend- 



PEOPLES 



105 



ants of these people have become most respectable citizens, 
others form the so-called " white trash," which are found scat- 
tered through the Southern States. Among their descendants, 
too, are some of the people who dwell among the mountains, 
living to this day the life of the backwoodsman, and now and 
then engaging in illegally distilling whiskey from corn raised 
in small patches on the mountain slopes. 

Negro slaves were brought to all the colonies, but 
they soon proved a much more profitable investment in 
the South than in the North. In New England the farms 
were small, the 
products were 
numerous and 
their cultivation 
required consid- 
6 r able skill. 
Moreover, the 
climate was se- 
vere for natives 
of tropical Af- 
rica. On the 
other hand, the 
Southern cli- 
mate was well suited to them ; and the simple routine 
work upon the great tobacco, cotton, sugar, and rice plan- 
tations was such as they could easily perform. Accord- 
ingly, the number of slaves increased in the South, while 
slavery gradually disappeared from the North. 

When steam began to turn the factory wheels of Eng- 
land, the demand for cotton from America greatly in- 
creased ; and the invention of the cotton gin, in 1793, 
made its production far more profitable than before. On 




Fig. HS. 
A negro group in the South. 



106 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

that account the slave-trade grew into an enormous indus- 
try, and slavery became apparently a necessary institution 
in the Southern States. Men, Avomen, and children v^^ere 
bought by slave-traders, — often Northerners or foreigners, 
— and sold to the plantation owners. 

Since slavery was abolished by the Civil War, the number 
of negroes has increased in the South, although many have 
migrated to the North and West. In most cases the slaves 
were well treated by their owners, but they were of course 
very ignorant, and the close of the war found the great major- 
ity of them totally imfitted for the duties of citizenship. It 
has been one of the great problems to determine what shall 
be done to educate and improve the condition of the negro. 
Many people in both North and South are deeply interested in 
it, though it is a matter in which the South has the more vital 
interest, since there are so many negroes in the Southern 
States, where they are depended upon to perform most of the 
labor. It is believed that the problem of improving the con- 
dition of the negroes is being solved by such schools as that at 
Hampton, Virginia, and Booker Washington's Tuskegee Insti- 
tute in Alabama. 

Immigrants to America. — Europe and Asia, as well as 
Africa, have poured forth a stream of immigrants into this 
country. Our increase in population, from a little over 
three millions at the close of the Revolutionary War to 
over seventy-six millions at present, has been possible only 
as a result of this steady stream from abroad. Nearly 
every foreign nation is represented, and upon the streets 
of our larger cities may be heard the languages of most of 
the civilized peoples of the globe. 

The greater part of our immigrants has come from 
northern Europe, especially from the British Isles, Ger- 
many, and the Scandinavian peninsula (see table, p. 454) j 



PEOPLES 107 

and great numbers of them have settled in the cities. 
More recently a flood of immigration from southern 
Europe has brought us less educated and less desirable 
people. At one time many Chinese threatened to come, 
and laws preventing their coming had to be passed. We 
have laws, also, excluding paupers, criminals, and laborers 
■who are brought here by contract. To others the country 
is free, though many believe that very ignorant persons 
should be prevented from immigrating here. 

It has been our mission to welcome these strangers, and, 
in spite of their varying ideas, customs, and languages, to 
teach them the principles of a republican form of govern- 
ment, to educate them, and, welding them into an harmoni- 
ous body, to make them good citizens and true Americans. 
It is not strange if some mistakes have been made in the 
process. It is a task that no other nation has ever per- 
formed on so grand a scale. Nevertheless, the fact that so 
few of the many foreigners who settle among us desire to 
return to their native lands is proof that they have not 
been disappointed in their expectations ; and it suggests 
reason for a well-founded pride in the government of the 
United States, and a hope for its future. 

Review Questions. — (1) What factors determine climate? 
(2) Of what importance is climate? (3) Why are there no large 
trees in the cold North ? (4) Describe the vegetation there. (5) What 
animals live on the land there? (6) Tell what you can about each. 
(7) Why are there moi'e animals in the sea? (8) What kinds live 
there? (9) How does the life of mountain tops resemble that of the 
frigid zones? (10) How do arid land plants protect themselves? 

(11) Tell what you can about the animals living in the arid lands. 

(12) Why should there be moi'e life in the tropical zone? (13) Name 
some of the plants living there. (14) Name some of the animals. 
(15) How do they protect themselves? (10) What can you say of tlie 
plants of the moist temperate zone ? (17) Of the animals? (18) Of 



108 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

the bison? (19) How does climate influence the cultivated crops? 
(20) The domesticated animals? (21) What cultivated plants and 
domesticated animals has North America supplied? (22) Describe 
the difficulties that the Eskimos encounter. (23) Give some examples 
of Indian names. (24) Describe the life of the savage and barbarous 
Indians. (25) Of the semi-civilized Aztecs. (26) What causes pre- 
vented the Indians from becoming more civilized? (27) Give' a 
reason why the Aztecs were able to advance. (28) What winds aided 
Columbus to discover southern countries? (29) What advantage 
did their location in southern North America give the Spaniards? 
(30) How did the Spaniards treat the Indians ? (31) What attracted 
the French to America? Where did they settle? (32) What other 
nations settled in the East? (33) What has been the fate of the 
Spaniards and French in America? (34) Why have the English- 
speaking people come into possession of the greater part of the 
continent? (35) What interfered with the westward migration of 
the English? (36) How was this migration finally brought about? 
(37) What effort has been made to care for the Indians? Why has 
it failed? (38) Tell about the beginnings of slavery in America. 

(39) Why was it more successful in the South than in the North ? 

(40) What is the condition of the negroes now? (41) Where do our 
immigrants come from ? (42) What is our mission toward them ? 

Suggestions. — (1) Examine some century and cactus plants. 

(2) Find some furniture made of mahogany or other tropical wood. 

(3) Visit a greenhouse to see orchids. (4) Collect pictures of native 
plants and animals of North America. (5) Collect samples of differ- 
ent American woods. (6) What does the eagle signify as our national 
emblem? On what coins is it found? (7) What have you read about 
the bison? About Indians? Write a story about each. (8) Explain 
more fully why domestic animals are necessary to civilized life. 
(9) Write a story about slavery times. (10) Do you know any of 
the negro melodies that were sung on the plantations? 

For Refebences, see page 439. 



VI. LATITUDE, LONGITUDE, AND STANDARD 

TIME 

Latitude and Longitude 

Need of a Means for Locating Places. — You have doubt- 
less noticed that it has frequently been necessary to refer 
to lines upon the earth, such as the Tropic of Cancer, the 
Equator, the Arctic Circle, etc., in order to locate certain 
places and the boundaries of the zones. But these lines 
are fai- apart, and there are many places between them to 
which reference must often be made. For instance, sup- 
pose we wished to state on what part of the earth London 
is situated ; how could it be done ? Of course, by taking a 
long time, it would be possible to describe just where this 
city is ; but cannot some more convenient way be devised ? 

The difficulty is much the same as tliat which arises in 
a large city. There are thousands of houses in the city, 
as there are thousands of towns and cities in the world. 
No one person knows who lives in most of them, and if a 
stranger were looking for a friend, he might have much 
trouble in finding him. 

The Streets of a City. — In this case the problem may he 
solved in a simple manner. A street running east and west 
may be selected to divide the city into two parts (Fig. 89). 
Any place north of this street is spoken of as being on the 
north side, and south of it as being on the south side. 
The streets to the north and south are numbered from 

109 



110 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

this, as North 1st, North 2d, North 3d ; and South 1st, 

South 2d, South 3d, aud so on. Then if a man says that 

„op^„ he lives on North 4th Street, 

-" jj^ThHisd ■— ' '-J.^'- one knows immediately that he 

-=^[solTy y [=ijpipq[: lives on the north side, and 

^y^y ^ Jzz^y.^L ^^-^r^^ i-,jg house is on the 4th 

-^pNORp--,1i5^''p^ii5Ji=:^^ street from this central one. 
WEST ^A^HrNGTON AVE^^ EAST But ix cltv also extcnds a 

-n'Uolid[fSTiQ — ir«-T^n-ir lonsf distance east and west, 

-\s—\^i^"*']^Fns^'Fnt and we need to know on what 

"irTnrTnnnr P street this house 

1 r^f-] f^ rn Pi rn r is to be found. To answer 

SOUTH 

„ that question, another street 

,, „ . f •^+•11. runninsf north and south, and 

Map of apart of a city, to illus- i^ ' 

trate the need of naming crossillg the east and west 
streets. -i n j. ] j. j • • i 

ones, may be selected to divide 
the city into east and west parts. The streets on the two 
sides are numbered from this one, as East 1st, East 2d, 
West 1st, West 2d, etc. (Fig. 89). 

Then if a man lives on the corner of North 4th and 
East 3d streets, one knows not only that his home is 
north of a certain line, but east of another line. If the 
blocks, or the space between any two streets, are always 
the same, it will also be easy to tell the distance from each 
of the central streets to the house. 

This plan is not necessary in small towns and villages, be- 
cause the people there know one another, and are able to direct 
strangers easily. Few, if any, cities follow exactly the scheme 
here given ; but many have a system of naming or numbering 
streets somewhat similar to this. 

If you live in a large city, perhaps you can tell just how 
your streets are named or numbered. 



LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE 



111 



"""•"' Po/g gO^'^Ro'^N*' ■-"*• 



O'S. Lat. 
"-^S. Lat, 



Distance North and South of the Equator {Latitude). — 
Places upon a globe are located in much this manner. 
For example, the equator, which extends around the 
earth midway between the poles, corresponds to the divid- 
ing street running east and west. The distance between 
the equator and the poles, on either side, is divided into 
ninety parts (Fig. 90), corresponding, we might say, to the 
blocks in a city. These, 
however, are each about 
sixty-nine miles wide and 
are called degrees,, marked 
with the sign °. 

In making maps people 
think of a line, or a cir- 
cle, extending around the 
earth sixty - nine miles 
north of the equator, and 
called a circle of latitude. 
Any point upon it is one 
degree (1°) north of the 
equator, or 1° North Lati- 
tude (abbreviated to N. 
Lat.). Similar lines are imagined 2°, 3°, and so on up to 
90°, or to the north pole. 

Since all points on any one of these circles are the same 
distance from the equator, and from the other circles of 
latitude, the lines hyq jyarallel ; and on that account they 
are called imralleh of latitude. See a globe. 

The same plan is followed on the south side, places in 
that hemisphere being in South Latitude (S. Lat.). 

If one finds that a certain j)lace is on the 8th, or tlie 
60th, or some other parallel north of the equator, he 




South r 6/ J, ^o. igf^ 



Fig. 00. 

The globe, showing the two hemispheres 
and some of the circles of latitude. 



112 A GENEEAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

knows how far it is north of the equator. San Francisco 
is close to the 38th parallel, Chicago close to the •42d, and 
St. Paul on the 45th (Figs. 178 and 211). Knowing 
this, it is easy to see that Chicago is 4°, or about two 
hundred and seventy-six miles, farther north than San 
Francisco, while St. Paul is 3°, or over two hundred miles, 
farther north than Chicago. 

Of course there are uo marks ?/j')o>i the earth to show where 
these lines run, but they are of great use on maps, because they 
help us to locate places. Small maps and globes cannot well 
show the entire ninety parallels on each side of the equator, 
so that usually only every fifth or tenth one is drawn. Exam- 
ine some maps (such as Figs. 95 and 178), to see which ones 
are given. Near what parallel do you live ? 

In speaking of the seasons (p. 34) it was stated that 
on June 21 the vertical rays of the sun reached farthest 
north. The part of the earth which they reach is 23^° 
north of the equator, and is marked on the maps by the 
Tropic of Cancer (Fig. 90). The Tropic of Capricorn is 
the same distance south of the equator (Fig. 90). 

Knowing now the length of a degree, you can find the Avidth 
of the tropical zone, both in degrees and in miles. AT hat is it ? 
New Orleans is just south of the SOtli parallel N. Lat. How 
far is it from the tropical zone ? 

On the day that the vertical rays of the sun reach far- 
thest north, the entire Arctic Circle is lighted by the sun 
at midnight. This circle is the same distance from the 
pole as the Tropic of Cancer from the equator, that is 
23|-°. The Antarctic Circle is the same distance from the 
south pole. 

From this it is evident that we can easily find the lati- 



LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE 



113 



tucle of a given place by the help of these parallels, for 
latitude is the distance north or }<outh of the equator. 

East and West Distances on the Earth (^Longitude^). — 
But how about distance east and west ? It is twentj-tive 
thousand miles around the earth at the equator, and some 
means must be found for telling on the map how far 
places are from each other in these directions. 

Imaginary lines are used for this purpose, as before ; 
but this time they extend north and south from pole to 
pole (Fig. 91), and are 
called meridians^ or lines 
of longitude. In the case 
of the city it makes little 
difference what north 
and south street is chosen 
from which to number 
the others. It is only 
necessary that a certain 
one be agreed upon. 

It is the same with 
these meridians. No one 
is especially important, 
as the equator is, and 
consequently different 
nations have selected dif- 
ferent lines to start from. In France the meridian ex- 
tending through Paris is chosen, in England that through 
Greenwich near London, and in America the one passing 
through Washington is sometimes used. But it is im- 

1 The ancients thouftht that the wrirld extended farther in an east and 
west than in a north and south direction. Tiierefore they called the east 
and west, or long direction, longitude ; the north and .south direction, 
latitude. 




The earth, cut in halves along the Green- 
wich meridian, showing some of the 
meridians. The meridian 20^ is usually 
considered the dividing line between 
the eastern and western hemispheres. 



114 



A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 



portant that all people agree on some one, so that all maps 
may be made alike. On that account many countries start 
their numbering with the meridian which passes through 
Greenwich. The maps in this book follow that plan. 

In Greenwich is a building, called an observatory, in Avhich 
there is a, telescope for the study of the sun, moon, and stars. 
As these heavenly bodies are of great help in finding the lati- 
tude and longitude of places, Greenwich seemed to the English 
a fitting place from which to begin niunbering their meridians. 

Commencing with this 
meridian as 0° longitude, 
people measure off degrees 
both east and west of it, 
and think of lines as ex- 
tending north and south 
toward the poles, as they 
do of circles of latitude 
running parallel to the 
equator. Thus there is a 
meridian 1° west, another 
2°, a third 3°, etc. Going 
eastward, they number 1°, 
2°, 3°, in the same way. 

Any place on the 3d 
meridian west of Green- 
wich is said to be in 3° 
West Longitude (W. Long.); if on the 60th meridian, 60° 
W. Long. Any place on the 20th meridian east of Green- 
wich is in 20° East Longitude (E. Long.). New York is 
74° W. Long., while San Francisco is about 123° W. Long. 
Jerusalem is about 35° E. Long. 

Knowing the latitude and longitude of any place, it 




""""{ituder £ast«' 
Fig. 92. 
A view, looking down on the north pole, 
to show how the meridians come to a 
point at the north pole. Notice that if 
the 0° meridian were continued it would 
unite with the meridian 180°. 



LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE 



115 



can, by the aid of a map, be as easily located as a house in 
a great city. For instance, Denver is about 40° N. Lat. 
and 105° W. Long. It is therefore far to the north and 
west of New Orleans, which is about 30° N. Lat. and 90° 



W. Long. 



Find the latitude and longitude of some of the large cities on 
the map (Fig. 97). Notice also that only every fifth meridian 
is marked. Compare this with the map of New England (Fig. 
99). Since this map represents a smaller section of country, 
more meridians can be drawn upon it. 

The circles of latitude are parallel to the equator and to 
each other, as you can prove by measuring the distance be- 
tween them on a globe. 
But the meridians 
cannot be parallel on 
a globe, since they 
start from the pole? 
and spread farther and 
farther apart uutil the 
equator is reached. 
Examine some of the 
maps in this book to 
see that the meridi- 
ans are not parallel, 
while the lines of lati- 
tude are. 

You can see how 
this is by taking tlie peeling from an orange (Fig. 9'>). The 
edges of each of the quarters siiread far apart in the middle, or 
equator, but come together at the ends, or poles, of the orange. 

A degree of longitude is a little over sixty-nine miles at 
the equator; but it decreases more and more as the poles 
are approached, mitil at the i>oles it is nothing, because all 
the meridians meet there at one point. Examine Figure 92 or, 
better still, a globe, to see that this must be true. 




Fig. !«. 

Au orange with a part of the peeling removed to 
show how the lines converge toward the poles, 
as the meridians converge on the globe. 



116 a genebal study of north america 

Standard Time 

If you were to travel from New York to San Francisco, 
you would find on arriving there that your watch was 
three hours aliead of the clocks in that city. The reason 
is that the rotation of the earth, from west to east, causes 
the sun's rays to fall upon the Atlantic coast more than 
three hours sooner than upon the Pacific, so that when it 
is noon in New York, it is about nine o'clock in the morn- 
ing at San Francisco. 

Measuring from east to west, every place has a different 
time by the sun, and some years ago each city had its own 
sun or solar time. But when railways were built, con- 
necting many places, these differences became a source of 
constant annoyance to the traveller. As his watch showed 
the time of only one place, perhaps a city some distance to 
the east or west, he could not tell exactly when a train 
would leave, or when his meals would be served. 

In order to avoid all this trouble the continent has been 
divided into belts, in each of which all the railways, and 
most of the towns, have the same time. Since this time 
is the standard for all, these belts are called the Standard 
Time Belts. The one in the extreme east is called the 
Colonial Belt; that next west of it, whicli includes New 
England, New York, and some of the other Eastern states, 
is called the Eastern Time Belt. What are the names of 
the others? (Fig. 94.) 

In travelling across the country from New York to San 
Francisco, one starts with his watch set at the standard 
time for the Eastern Time Belt. After a while he comes 
to a place where the time changes one full hour ; then he 
has Central Time. Going still farther west to the Moun- 



STANDARD TIME 



117 



tain Belt, the Avatch is again set back one full hour ; what 
is done when the Pacihc Belt is reached ? In this way, 
only a few changes of the watch have to be made ; and, 
as long as one remains in a certain belt, he is sure of the 
time of day. 

Our study of longitude helps us to understand Avhat 
determines the places for changing this time. When the 




STA.NDAUD TIME IX THE IXITED STATES. 



Fig. 94. 

To show the staudard time helts of the United States, — the actual houndariea 

beiug irregular, as you see. 

sun is rising at a certain point on a meridian, it is rising 
at every other point on that meridian. ^ 

The earth makes one complete rotation every 24 hours, 
so that suuri.se, noon, and sunset reach each of the 360 
meridians in the course of the day of 24 hours. Dividing 
360 by 24 gives 15 ; that is the number of meridians that 

* It is understood, of course, that this does not apply to the frigid 
zone, where the sun does not rise at all during a part of the year, and 
where it does not set during another part of the year. 



118 A GENERAL STUDY OF NORTH AMERICA 

the sunrise or sunset pass over in a single hour. There- 
fore, if in one place, as at Philadelphia, on the 75th merid- 
ian, it is sunrise at six o'clock, it will be sunrise one hour 
later at all points just 15° west of this, or on the 90tb 
meridian. 

This explains what has determined the boundary lines of 
the time belts. The time selected for the Eastern Belt is 
that of the 75th meridian ; for the Central Belt, that of 
the 90th meridian, which is just one hour later. What 
meridian is selected for the ^Mountain Belt ? (Fig. 94.) For 
the Pacific Belt ? Each of these meridians runs through 
the middle of the belt whose time it fixes, so that the east- 
ern boundary of the Central Time Belt is half-way be- 
tween the 75th and 90th meridians, that is West Longitude 
82^°; and the western boundary is half-way between the 
90th and 105th meridians, or 97|° West Longitude. 

In reality the railways do not change their time exactly 
according to these boundaries, for oftentimes the meridians 
extend through very unimportant points, or even cross the 
railways far out in open country. Instead of following the 
exact boundaries, they select well-known places, like Buffalo, 
Pittsburg, and Atlanta, at which cities the change is made 
from Eastern to Central time. Therefore, the boundaries 
which represent the places where the railways actually change 
their time are somewhat irregular, and not always on the 
proper meridian (Fig. 94). 

You see that the object of these Time Belts is to save 
annoyance, and that for most places the standard time is 
incorrect time. For instance, noon by the standard time 
is not the real noon for any places in the United States 
excepting those along the 75th, 90th, 105th and 120th 
meridians. 



STANDARD TIME 119 

Questions: Latitude and Longitude. — (1) How may an east and 
west street be used in a city to locate houses? (2) IIow may a north 
and south street be so used? (3j JNIake a phui of a city showing two 
central streets and others numbered from tiiein. (4) What corre- 
sponds to the central east and west street in locating places upon the 
globe? (5) Into how many parts is the distance between the equator 
and each pole divided ? (0) AVhat is each of them called V (7) What 
is meant by saying that a place is in 1° N. Lat. ? (8) IIow far apart 
are the circles of latitude? (9) Why are these circles called parallels? 

(10) What is S. Lat.? (11) Give the latitude of each of the tropics. 
(12) Of the Arctic and Antarctic circles. (13) What is a meridian? 
(1-1) Why is it necessary to have them ujwn maps? (15) W'hich 
meridian is most commonly chosen as zero? Why that one? (16) How 
high do the numbers of the meridians run? (Fig. 360.) (17) What 
is meant by saying that a place is in 3° E. Long.? In 90° W. Long.? 
(18) Show that meridians are not parallel. 

Standard Time. — (19) Explain why the time is continually chang- 
ing as one goes west. As he goes east. (20) IIow has this caused 
annoyance in travelling? (21) What remedy has been found? 
(22) '\\ hat are the names of the Standard Time Belts in the United 
States? (23) Wliat is the difference in time between the belts? 

(24) Which meridians are used to fix the boundaries? Why these? 

(25) Show the boundaries on the map (Fig. 94). (26) Why is 
standard time really incorrect for most places ? 

Suggestions. — (1) Find how the streets of Washington have 
been numbered and lettei'ed. (2) What is the width, in degrees and 
miles, of the north temperate zone? (3) What is the latitude and 
longitude of Boston? Of Washington ? Of Chicago? Of your nearest 
large city? (4) Find some cities that are on or near the 42d parallel 
of latitude. (5) What place is in 25° X. Lat. and 81° \\\ Long.? Near 
40° X. Lat. and 75° W. Long.? (G) ]\Iake a drawing sliowing several 
of the meridians. (7) Visit a telescope and look through it. (8) F'ind 
the lOOlh meridian (on map Fig. 97) west of wliich mucli of the coun- 
try is arid. (9) Compare some of the parallels of latitude with the 
nearest isotherm (Fig. 03). (10) Where and how much would you 
change your watch in ti'avelling from San F'rancisco to Chicago? 

(11) What is the difference in time between Baltimore and Denver? 

(12) Examine some railway time-tiibles to see how they indicate the 
changes in time. (13) WHiat is the difference where you live between 
Standard Time and solar time? 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



I. THE EARTH AS A PLANET 

Stars and Planets. — As we look into the heavens at 
night, thousands of stars meet our gaze, and by the help 
of powerful telescopes many more thousands have been 
discovered. The stars are fiery hot bodies like the sun, 
but so far away that they appear only as twinkling lights. 

Some impression of the immensity of the universe is gained 
when we reflect that some of the stars are so distant that their 
light, which is now reaching our eyes, may have started toward 
us as long ago as the time of Christ. Yet light travels so rap- 
idly that it takes less than nine minutes for it to pass over the 
93,000,000 miles that separate us from the sun. 

Some of the brightest of the heavenly bodies have no 
light of their own, but, like the moon, merely reflect 
light that falls upon them from the sun. They do not 
remain in one part of the heavens, as the true stars do, 
but slowly change their position. For this reason they 
were long ago called planets, which means wanderers. 

The planets are much nearer to us than the myriads of 
stars J in fact, they are members of the solar family to 

121 



122 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



which the earth belongs. The sun is the centre of this 
family, or solar system^ and supplies the members of it 
with light and heat. The eight large planets, named in 
the order of their distance from the sun, are Mercury, 
Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. 



Neptune 

/ \ Earth Mans 
6 Q i f 
Venus Mercury 
Uranus 




Fig. 1. 

The circles at the top show the relative size of the planets ; the lower figure 
shows their relative distances from the sun. 



The two most distant of the planets cannot be seen without a 
telescope ; but the others are easily seen, and Venus is the most 
brilliant object in the heavens, after the sun and moon. It 
appears either as the Evening Star or Morning Star. Find 
some of the planets in the sky. 

There is a very close resemblance among the members of 



THE EARTH AS A PLANET 



123 



this solar family. All are spherical in form, and each one, whose 
movements are known, rotates upon an axis while revolving 
about tlie sun ; but the periods required to complete their revolu- 
tions vary greatly with different i^lanets. For example, Mer- 
cury, about 36,000,000 miles from the sun, takes less than three 
months for one journey around it; while Neptune, about 
2,700,000,000 miles distant, requires 165 years for a single 
revolution. How far is the earth from the sun, and how long 
does it take for one revolution ? 

Ocean Basins and Continents. — It is believed that all 
of the planets were once hot bodies like the sun and the 



Easrern 
Uniled Staters 



Overflowed 
margin of The> 




Fig. 2. 

To illustrate the fact that the oceans fill the great depressions in the earth's 
crust that lie between the continent upfolds. 



stars. The larger planets have not cooled as mucli as the 
earth, and some of them seem still to be hot. For exam- 
ple, the atmosphere of Jupiter is always full of clouds, 
as if the heat of the planet caused the ocean water to 
rise as steam. On the other hand, Mercury, jNIars, Venus, 
and the Earth (Fig. 1), being so much smaller, have of 
course cooled more quickly. They have therefore be- 
come solid, and a cold " crust " of minerals and rocks has 
formed around the still heated interior. 

You will recall that, as the interior of the earth con- 
tinues to cool and contract, tlie crust settles upon it and 
is thus thrown into folds and wrinkles. It is these great 



124 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



upfolds that form the continents, while the downfolds 
form the ocean basins. 

Water fills the extensive, depressed portions of the 
earth's surface, and even overflows the lower margin of the 
elevated areas (Fig. 2). Thus only about one-fourth of 
the earth's surface rises above the water. In which hemi- 
sphere is most of the land? (Fig. 3.) In which is most 
of the water ? Locate the five oceans on a globe. ^ 













Fig. 3. 
The land and water hemispheres. 

While a broad ocean encircles the south polar region, land 
surrounds the north pole, extending southward in two great 
masses that are almost united at Bering Strait. The smaller 
of these, in the western hemisphere, includes North and South 
America, the Kew World ; while the much larger Old World 
includes the great continents of Eurasia and Africa. South 
of Asia, in the southern hemisphere, is Australia, also classed 
as a continent. Find each of these on a globe. 

Compare the continents with each other and with the United 
States in size (see Tables just before Index). Three are tri- 

1 See also the two maps inserted just before the list of Books of Refer- 
ence. 



THE EARTH AS A PLANET 



126 



angular in shape with the apex of the triangle pointing south- 
ward, while Eurasia has its greatest extent from east to west. 
Compare thein as to their regularity of outline. Tell what 
bodies of water separate each continent from the others. 



Mountains and Volcanoes. — As the heated interior of 
the earth has contracted, it has not only thrown the sur- 
face into a few 
broad folds, 
forming conti- 
nents and ocean 
basins, but here 
and there the 
crust has been 
crumpled into 
narrower folds, 
forming moun- 
tain ranges. Dur- 
ing the growth 
of mountains the 
rocks are both 
folded and broken. Through the cracks thus formed 
melted rock sometimes rises in such quantities as to build 
lofty peaks or cones known as volcanoes (Fig. 4). From 
Cape Horn to Alaska there is an almost unbroken series 
of mountain systems, among whose jjeaks are numy \(A- 
canoes, some of which are still in action. 




Fig. 4. 

Mount St. Helens, Washington, a volcanic cone north 
of Portland, Oregon (copyrighted, 18Viy, by H. A. 
Hale). 



Name the western ranges of North and South America, and 
such volcanoes of North America as you remember. Some of 
these mountain ranges are still rising, especially in South 
America, where within the last century the land in some places 
has been uplifted several feet. This rising of the land has 



126 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



been accompanied by destructive earthquake shocks caused by 
the slipping of the rocks as they moved one upon another. 

A great girdle of mountains and volcanoes borders the 
Pacific (Fig. 5), reaching from Cape Horn to Alaska, and 
thence to the Kurile Islands by the way of the Aleutian chain. 
It then continues southward along the Japanese Islands 
to the Philippines and the East Indies, all of which are 







Fig. 5. 

The girdle of mountains and volcanoes encircling the Pacific Ocean, 
volcanoes shown by circles, others by black dots. 



Extinct 



mountainous islands where elevation is still in progress and 
where active volcanoes abound. 

There are other mountain ranges and associated pla- 
teaus on each of the continents to be studied about later. 
Just now it is important to speak of but one other series 
of mountain folds, and these extend nearly east and west, 
while the mountains of the girdle just mentioned reach for 
the most part in a north and south direction. The east 



THE EABTU AS A PLANET 127 

and west series includes the mountain systems of Eurasia, 
among which are the lofty ranges of central and southern 
Asia. These ranges reach their greatest elevation in the 
Himalayas on the southern border of the plateau of Tibet. 
Here are the loftiest mountains of the world. Other 
mountain chains of this series are situated much farther 
west, among the highest being the Caucasus, Alps, and 
Pyrenees in Europe. 

Review Questions. — (1) What is a star?— (2) Give some idea 
of the distance of the stars from us. (3) What is a planet ? (4) Name 
the eiglit planets. (5) ^lention some points of similarity among them. 
(6) Of diffei-ence. (7) How has the earth's crust been formed, witli 
its continents and ocean basins ? (8) What is the extent and position 
of the water surf ace. (9) Describe each of the five oceans. (10) Sim- 
ilarly describe the land surface. (11) Tell about the girdle of moun- 
tains and volcanoes which encircles the Pacific. (12) Name and locate 
some of the mountain systems which extend east and west. 

Suggestions. — (1) Find the north star. (2) Find some of the 
constellations. (The Great Dipper and Cassiopeia are always in sight 
at the north, and the Pleiades and Orion maj' be seen in the east on 
autumn evenings.) (3) Write out the observations you have made 
about the moon. (4) ]\Iake a careful sketch of Venus or Jupiter and the 
stars near them. After some days or weeks make a similar drawing and 
compare the two. (5) What might be some of the effects if the earth's 
revolution about the sun required a much longer period? (6) What 
changes might result if tliere were less water in the ocean depressions? 
(Think of effects on size of continents ; on commerce; on climate; and 
on land adapted to agriculture.) (7) State some of the changes tliat 
would result if there were enough water to raise the level of the sea a 
thousand feet. (8) Draw a map of the Pacific Ocean, and with colored 
pencil, or ink, draw lines to show the surrounding mountain ranges of 
the continents and the island chains (Fig. 5). 

Books of Re?-erenck for each Section are Listed at the 
End of the Book. 



II. MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH AND THEIR 
RESULTS 

Daily Motion. — Like the other planets the earth is 
rapidly rotating, that is, turning on one of its diame- 
ters, called the axis. When we glance out of the window 
of a moving car, the objects we pass appear to be mov- 
ing in the direction opposite to that in which we are 
travelling. It seems as though we were standing still. 
In a similar way the rotation of the earth makes the sun 
appear to rise and set, and for a long time people believed 
that it was the sun that moved, and not the earth. 

In what direction must the earth rotate, since the sun ap- 
pears to move from east to west ? The period of time required 
for one rotation is called a day. Since the circumference of 
the earth at the equator is about twenty-five thousand miles, 
how far does a point on the equator move in an hour ? In a 
minute ? 

By rotating a globe or an apple in the sunlight show how 
day and night are caused on the earth. Hold the sphere still ; 
what would be true on opposite sides of the earth if it did not 
rotate at all ? What might be the effect upon life on the earth 
if the same side were always toward the sun ? 

Yearly Motion. — While the earth makes one complete 
rotation in a day, it requires a whole year to make one jour- 
ney, or revolution, around the sun. As the earth travels 
along its path, the stars on one side of the sun are visible 
on July evenings, and quite different stars and constella- 
tions on January evenings. 

128 



MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH 



129 




Fig. 6. 



But this change in the appearance of stars is much 

less noticeable than the changes in the seasons, which are 

also due in part 

to the earth's C ) 

revolution around 

the sun. If one 

part of our planet, 

as for instance the 

north pole, or the 

equator, or the 

south pole, were 

always turned 

toward the sun, 

revolution would 

not cause changes 

of season. As a 

matter of fact, however, the portion of the earth which is 

turned toward the 
sun is continually 
changing. 

Place an ink 
bottle upon your 
desk. Tlien rest 
the blunt end of 
your pencil upon 
the table a few 
inches to the left 
of the bottle, with 
the pointed end 
inclined from you 

(Fig. G). Notice tliat neither end of the jjcncil is now 

inclined toward or away from the bottle. 




Fia. 7. 



130 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 




Fig. 8. 



Now, keeping the pointed end inclined from you, 
always in the same direction, slowly move the pencil 

away from you 
in a circle around 
the bottle. When 
the side farthest 
^. from you is 
reached, the blunt 
end of the pencil 
is toward the bot- 
tle, while the 
point is turned 
away (Fig. 7). 
On reaching the 
right side, the two 
ends are again so 
placed that neither is turned from the bottle (Fig. 8) ; 
but on arriving 
at the side near- 
est to you, the 
pencil point is 
inclined toward 
the bottle, while 
the blunt end is 
turned away 
(Fig. 9). 

These posi- 
tions of the pen- 
cil well illustrate 

those of the "' ^^«- »• 

earth's axis with relation to the sun. The bottle 
represents the sun; the circular path followed by the 




MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH 131 

pencil represents the earth's orbit or the slightly elliptical 
path taken by the earth in its journey about the sun ; and 
the pencil stands for the earth's axis. The pencil, instead 
of being perpendicular to the surface of the desk, was 
somewhat inclined ; and the earth's axis is also inclined 
to the plane through which the earth revolves, or the plane 
of the orbit (Fig. 10). The axis of the earth remains in 
this one position, pointing toward the nortli star. 

Results of the Earth's Revolution and Inclination of its 
Axis. — This fact of the unchanging inclination of its 

Earth's Axis 



Fig. 10. 
To illustrate the inclination of the earth's axis to the plane of its orbit. 

axis, as the earth revolves about the sun, may seem a 
small thing in itself ; but it is really of such momentous 
importance that hundreds of our customs are regulated by 
it. It determines the time when lamps shall be lighted, 
when grain shall be planted and harvested, and when the 
navigation of rivers and lakes shall open and close in cold 
climates. It also greatly influences the kind of clothing 
tliat we wear and the sports that we enjoy. Name some 
other of its influences. It does all this by continually 
changing the length of our day and the inclination at 
which the sun's rays reach the earth's surface. 

Figure 11, showing the position of the earth on Sep- 
tember 23, corresponds to the first position of the pencil 
(Fig. 6). Although the axis is inclined, neither pole is 



132 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



turned from the sun, and the light therefore extends from 
pole to pole. Then the sun's rays are vertical at the 

equator, and the days 



and nights are equal 
over all the earth. 
This time is called 
the autumnal equinox 
(the latter from two 
words meaning equal 
and night'). 

Figure 12 repre- 

the earth in 

the second position 




Fig. 11. 
Position of the earth September 23. Notice that 
the vertical rays (heavy line in middle) are at gents 
the equator. Compare with Figure 6. 



of the pencil, or that of December 21, when the earth's 
revolution has brought the south polar region toward the 
sun and into the light, while the north polar region is 
shrouded in dark- 
ness. The vertical 
rays have now passed 
south to the Tropic 
of Capricorn. Ex- 
amine a globe to see 
what countries are 
crossed by this line. 

■^ Fig. 12. 

Here the sun seems Position of the earth December 21. Where are 

to turn and move the vertical rays now? What about the north 

, , , 11. pole ? Compare with Figure 7. 

northward, and for 

that reason this parallel is called a tropic (from a word 

meaning to turn). 

When the sun is vertical over the Tropic of Capricorn, it is 
summer for lands south of this tropic, and the people of these 
lands have their longest day. Indeed, the south pole itself has 




MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH 



183 



been constantly in the sunlight for three months, and on 
December 21 the entire region within the Antarctic Circle 
has sunlight for the full twenty -four hours. On the other 
hand, we whose homes are in the northern hemisphere have 
our shortest day at this date, and winter is upon us. The 
north pole has been entirely Avithout sunlight for three months, 
and the whole area within the Arctic Circle is in darkness 
even at midday. What is the condition of Europe then ? 

Figure 13 shows the third position, or that of March 
21, when the poles i 

are again turned "^"^"^ "- — ~ ,--^~pli^ " 

neither toAvard nor 
away from the sun. 
The equator is once 
more under the verti- 
cal rays of the sun, 
and the days and 
nights are equal the 
world over. This 
period, called the ver- 




FiG. 13. 



Position of the earth March 21. Where are the 
rays vertical? Compare with Figure 8. 



nal equinox^ is the commencement of our spring. 

this date our 




Fig. 14. 

Position of the earth June 21. 
Figure 9. 



Compare with 



After 
days 

gradually lengthen un- 
til, on June 21, the 
continued revolution of 
the eartli has brought 
it into the fourth posi- 
tion (Fig. 9). The 
sun's rays are then 
vertical over the Tropic 
of Cancer (Fig. 14), 
and at this date we 



have our longest day, and summer is upon us. 



134 



GENERAL GEOGBAPRY 



What countries of the northern continents are then warmed 
by the vertical rays of the sun ? (See a globe or map.) The 




Fig. 15. 
To illustrate the revolution of the earth around the sun. The shaded portion 
represents night. The end of the axis around which the earth rotates is the 
point where the lines come together (the north pole). At M'hat date is 
this pole turned toward the sun ? Away from it ? Neither toward nor 
away from it ? What portions of the earth do the sun's rays reach at each 
of these times ? 

Arctic region is in the midst of its longest day and summer, 
while the Antarctic is wrapped in the darkness of its long 
winter night. Why ? In what direction from us does the 
sun rise and set at this time ? ■ ' 



MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH 



135 



After this the sun again seems to turn, this time 
moving southward. Year after year, as the earth revolves 
around the sun, exactly these changes take place. 

Boundaries of the Zones. — The amount of inclination 
of the earth's axis has not been stated, but you have no 
doubt discovered 
that that is a mat- 
ter of very great 
importance. 

In considering 
the amonnt, it is 
necessary to speak 
of angles. Angles 
may be measured 
by the use of cir- 
cles. A right angle, 
for instance, is one 
that includes one- 
fourth of a circle 
between its sides 
(Fig. IG). It is 
customary to di- 
vide circles into 
parts, or derjrees 
(indicated by the sign °), the number chosen being 360, a num- 
ber which is exactly divisible by numerous other numbers, as 
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, etc. Since a right angle includes one- 
fourth of a circle, it contains one-fourth of 360°, or 90° ; and 
an angle tliat is ono-half as large as a right angle contains 45°. 
By drawing lines from tlie centrtj of a circle to its circumference, 
construct an angle of 90°; and others of 120°, 45°, and 22^.° 



/ Ri^hr 


^. 


1 Anale 


/ "f^' \ 


qo^ 


/ Angle \ 


Ri^ht 


Ri^ht j 


\ Anale 


An^le 1 


\ qo' 


qo' / 



Fig. 1G. 
To illustrate the meaning of angles. 



The angle in Figure 17 is 2-').]°, and sliows just 
how far the pencil (Figs. 6-9) should be inclined. Hold 



136 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 




Fig. 17. 

An angle of 231° drawn in 
a right angle. 



fjorffi Pole 



your pencil perpendicular to the top of the table; now tilt 

it about 23^°. That is the position of the earth's axis 
with reference to the plane of its 
orbit, and year after year it remains 
at that angle. 

This is the reason why the tropics 
and polar circles are situated just where 
they are. On June 21, when the north 
pole is turned toward the sun, the 
vertical rays fall 23|^° north of the 
equator, because the axis is inclined 
that amount. On that account the 
Tropic of Cancer lies 23|^° north of 

the equator. At this date, also, the sunlight reaches the 

same number of de- 
grees beyond the 

north pole, and there- 
fore the Arctic Circle 

is located 231° from 

the pole. 

On December 21 

the earth's revolution 

has caused the north 

pole to turn away 

from the sun, and 

the vertical rays then 

fall 231-° south of the 

equator, while the 

sunlight reaches the 

same distance beyond A map of the zones. Make a drawing similar 

the south pole. Thus 

the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle are 




MOV KM EM TS OF TTIE EARTH 137 

located. It is plain, therefore, that tlie inclination of the 
earth's axis determines the exact boundaries of the zones. 

Show each zone on a globe and point out its boundaries (Fig. 
18). What is the -width of each in degrees? Find the ap- 
proximate width in miles. (Each of these degrees is about 
sixty-nine miles.) What is the direction of the sun's rays in 
each zone, and the resulting temperature ? Should you expect 
to find a very different temperature in moving across the 
boundary line between two neighboring zones ? AVhy ? 

Review Questions. — (1) "What is the earth's axis? (2) What 
was formerly believed about the earth's movement? (3) In what 
direction does the earth rotate? (-4) What changes in the stars result 
from the earth's revolution? (5) What other effect of revolution is 
noticeable? (6) With a pencil, illustrate the movement of the 
earth around the sun (Figs. 6-9). (7) What is the earth's orbit? 
(S) What is the plane of the earth's orbit? (9) How are we affected 
by these positions of the earth? (10) Describe the position of the 
earth, the length of day, etc., on September 23. (II) On Decem- 
ber 21. (12) March 21. (13) June 21. (14) How may angles be 
measured? (15) Give examples. (IG) How much is the axis of tiie 
earth inclined? (17) How does this inclination of the earth's axis 
serve to fix the boundaries of the zones? 

Suggestions. — (1) Find out why the earth is slightly flattened at 
the poles. (2) What might be some of the effects if each rotation 
lasted longer than twenty-four hours? (3) If nmch less? (-4) At 
what time of day does your shadow always point directly rorth? 
(5) Notice how your shadow changes with the season in early morn- 
ing. At noon. In the evening. (6) Tell about the direction and 
length of a man's shadow at noon on December 21st, at various points 
between the poles. (7) On June 21. (8) On September 23. (9) How 
long is our longest. night? Our shortest? (10) ^lake a sketch of the 
eastern and western horizons as seen from your home. On it locate 
the position of the rising and setting sun at different times of year. 

(11) Which zone experiences the slightest change of seasons? Why? 

(12) What advantages and disadvantages do you see in that fact for 
people living tliere? (13) Is it once or twice each year that the verti- 
cal rays of the sun fall upon any pne place in the Torrid Zone? 
(14) W^hat might be the effect of a greater inclination of the earth's 
axis? Of a less inclination? 



III. MAPS. (LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE) 



North Pal 



To aid in locating cities, lakes, and other points on the 
earth's surface two sets of circles are used, one extending 
east and west, the other north and south. When maps of 
any part of the earth's surface are made, these circles are 
drawn on them. In a study of the earth they are of 
much the same advantage as the names and numbers 
of streets when one is finding his way in a large city. 
Latitude. — The circles which are extended around the 
globe in east and west directions are called circles of 

latitude (Fig. 19). The 
'°^- '""*■ two tropics and the Arctic 

and Antarctic circles are 
examples, and there are 
many others. In order 
that they may be of use 
they must be numbered. 
Accordingly, the equator^ 
or the circle which is 
midway between the poles, 
is called 0° latitude. All 
circles north of this,, that is 
all in the northern hemi- 

The globe, showing the two hemispheres sphere, are Said to be in 
and some of the circles of latitude. i i • t 

north latitude ; all south 
of it, or in the southern hemisphere, are in south latitude. 
Since these circles are parallel to each other, they are 
often called parallels of latitude. 

1.38 




south P° 



MAPS. (LATITUDE AXB LONGITUDE') 139 

It has been said (p. 15) that a circle may be divided 
into 3G0 parts, or degrees. One-fourth of 360 is 90 ; and 
since the distance from the equator to either pole is one- 
fourth of that around the earth, there are just 90° from 
the equator to either pole. Accordingly tlie circles of lati- 
tude in each hemisphere are numbered from 0° at the 
equator to 90° at the poles. Since the circamference of 
the earth is about 25,000 miles, dividing that by 360 
makes the length of each degree of latitude about 69 
miles. Therefore latitude is merely distance from the 
equator. 

What cities in the United States are near the fortieth 
parallel of north latitude ? What is the latitude of Key 
West ? Of New York ? Of Madrid in Spain ? Of Peking ? 
Of Kimberley in South Africa ? Of the Tropic of Cancer ? Of 
the Tropic of Capricorn ? Of the Arctic Circle ? Of the 
Antarctic Circle ? 

Longitude. — It is evident that the distance of any place 
north or south of the equator can be easily found by the 
use of circles of latitude. But of course there must be 
some means of locating points in east and west directions 
also. This is made possible by the use of meridians, or 
circles extending northward and southward across the 
equator. 

Notice on Figure 21 how the meridians converge toward 
the poles, coming nearer and nearer together until they 
finally reach the poles. Since they meet at these two 
points, though spreading far apart at the equator, it is plain 
that they cannot be parallel (Fig.^ 20). Degrees of longi- 
tude, therefore, are not of the same length in all places. 
At the equator, which is 25,000 miles in length, each of 
the 360° is about 69 miles ; but where the meridians cross 



140 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



the smaller Arctic Circle, the length of a degree of longi- 
tude is much less. 

To number the circles of longitude, a prime or zero 
meridian must be selected from which to commence. 
The one most commonly chosen for this purpose is that 
passing through Greenwich near London. All circles 
of longitude east of this meridian are numbered as east 

longitude (E. Long.) until 
*-<- the opposite side of the 

earth, or meridian 180°, 
is reached (Fig. 21). All 
west of the Greenwich 
meridian, as far as 180°, 
are numbered as west 
longitude (W. Long.). 

The 180th meridian is a 

^_ ^ continuation, on the other 

^''s.poLEj''" g-^g ^£ j.j^g eaxth., of the 

Greenwich or zero meridian, 

The earth, cut in halves along the Green- i . i , . , i t 

wich meridian, showing some of the and the two together make a 
meridians. complete circle. Hence we 

may speak of circles of 
longitude as well as circles of latitude. Why must the 
meridian marked 180° E. Long, be the same as the one marked 
180° W. Long.? Which meridian passes near New York ? Den- 
ver ? Vienna ? Jerusalem ? 

Find the latitude and longitude of Chicago. Of Kew 
Orleans. St. Petersburg. Rome. Peking. 

If a large map is made of a small part of the earth, the 
circles of latitude and longitude are too far apart to be of much 
use. Therefore, it is customary to divide each degree into 
sixty parts called minutes, just as each hour is divided into 
sixty parts. Each minute of latitude and longitude is divided 
into sixty parts called seconds, as each minute of time is divided 




MAPS. QLATITUDR and LONGirUDE) 



141 



into sixty seconds. The sign for a degree is ° ; for a minute ' ; 
for a second ". Thus 60 degrees, 40 minutes, and 20 seconds 
north latitude is marked 60° 40' 20" X. Lat. Examine some 
map of a small section to find these signs. 

Longitude and Time. — The meridians are of use in 
determining time also. Wlien it is noon at one point on 
a meridian it is noon at 
all other places along the 
same meridian. For ex- 
ample, when it is noon at 
your home, it is midday 
at all other places which 
are exactly north or south 
of you. Just one twenty- 
fourth of the distance 
around the world to your 
east, that is 15° east of 
you, it is exactly one hour 
later. What is true on 
your west ? 

You will recall that the 
United States is divided 
into belts of Standard 
Time (Fig. 22), each belt ha\dng the time of its central 
meridian. These central meridians are taken 15° apart, 
so that the difference in time between adjoining belts is 
exactly one hour. 

In order that the system may accord with that of other 
parts of the world, the time of the Greenwich meridian is 
taken as the basis. Thus the whole world, like the United 
States, may l)e divided into standard time belts, with a 
change of an hour at every fifteenth meridian. 




Fig. 21. 
To show how the iiieridinns converge at the 
pole. Trace tlie 0"^ iiieridinii to the op- 
po.site side of the glohe. "What is it num- 
bered there ? Trace some of the others. 



142 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



Maps of the World. — When we wisli to represent the 
earth accurately we must use a globe ; but this involves 
so many inconveniences that geographers have invented 
other kinds of maps. However, the fact that the earth 
is a sphere makes it impossible to draw fiat maps of large 
sections without some distortion. You can understand 
the difficulty if you try to flatten the half of a hollow 




'^'''J'<^n^7u(^:^''f^ 



swa'dakd time in the imted sfafes 

Fig. 22. 

Standard time belts of the United States. Find the central meridian for each 
time belt. Why are the actual boundaries of these belts so irragular? 



rubber ball upon a table. You could not possibly do this 
without stretching it out of shape along the edges. 

A small part of the earth is so nearly flat that it mtly be 
represented on a map without distortion , but when half 
of the whole earth is to be shown there is much distor- 
tion. For example, in a map of the hemispheres (Fig. 20) 
you can easily see that the meridian in the centre is 
shorter than those on the outside ; but on a globe all 
the meridians are of the same length, since all reach from 



MAPS. {LATITUDE AND LOyulTUDE) 



143 



the equator to the poles. On such a map, therefore, lands 
at the edge must be represented as longer from north to 
south than those near the central meridian. 

A map of the whole earth, like Figure 25, is called a 






Fig. 23. 

To illustrate the distortiDii on Mercator maps. A shows a globe with the 
meridians (U)nvergiiig at the pole. B sliows tliree of these meridians 
coming to a point at tlie uortli pole, as they do on a globe. For a Mcr- 
cator map these meridians are spread apart and made parallel as they 
would be on a cylinder (a cylinder is drawn around the globe in A) rolled 
out flat, as in C. This, of course, distorts the lands, making them too 
broad in the north. Compare A, B, and C, to understand that this is so. 
Notice, also, that the parallels of latitude are drawu farther apart toward 
the north. 



Mercator map,, after the man who first made one. It is 
drawn as though the lands and waters near the poles 
were stretched out until the meridians are parallel. At 
the same time all tlie parallels of latitude are made as 
long as the equator. (See Fig. 23.) 

In a ]\[ercator map, the farther you go from the equator, the 
more the lauds are distorted. Greenland, for instance, and 



144 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 

northern North America and Eurasia, are greatly exaggerated 
in breadth. Also the Arctic Ocean looks like a long extent of 
water, instead of a great gulf opening from the Atlantic, which 
it really is. On such a map the poles themselves cannot be 
shown at all. 

There are other ways of representing a part or all of the 
earth. For example, see Figures 3 and 29. Compare the differ- 
ent maps of this book to see how the form of continents varies 
in those drawn after different plans. From these statements 
you can see how very important it is to use a globe frequently, 
in order to keep in mind the real shape of the continents.* 

Review Questions. — (1) By what lines are places on the 
earth's surface accui-ately located? (2) How is latitude indicated 
on maps ? What is latitude ? (3) What is the starting point for 
measuring it? (4) W^hat is the length of a degree of latitude? How 
is it determined ? (5) How is longitude indicated ? What is longi- 
tude ? (6) What is the starting point for measuring it ? (7) What 
is the length of a degree of longitude at the equator? Why? 
(8) How are the meridians numbered? (9) What subdivisions of 
degrees are there? Why are they necessary? (10) How does the 
time change in going eastward? W^estward? (H) Tell about 
Standard Time in the United States. (12) Why is it difficult to make 
accurate maps of large parts of the earth? (13) In what way are 
hemisphere maps distorted ? (14) Mercator maps ? 

Suggestions. — (1) Compare the latitude of the most southern 
point in the United States with the most southern point in Europe. 
(2) Compare the longitude of eastern United States with that of 
western South America. (3) Find some places that have nearly the 
same latitude as your home. The same longitude. (4) Ask a sur- 
veyor to tell you the exact latitude and longitude of the city hall, or 
your town centre. (5) Show on a globe or map where a ship would 
be in the Atlantic when in zero latitude and longitude. (6) What 
city is about 45° N. Lat. and 93° W. Long. ? (7) What islands are 
nearly 14° N. Lat. and 145° E. Long.? (8) Since the sun's rays travel 
over 15° of longitude in an hour of time, how many minutes of longi- 
tude do they travel over in one minute of time? 

* Small globes are so cheap that every school should have at least one. 



IV. WIND AND RAIN BELTS 

One great lesson of geograpliy is that all nature is 
bound together. Each force influences others, and all of 
the forces together affect not only the plants and animals 
of the earth, but the life of man himself. For example, 
it is because of the earth's form and motions that the sun's 
heat is distributed in belts which change with the seasons. 
In turn these different zones of heat have determined the 
gi'eat belts of winds and the distribution of rainfall. If 
we would clearly understand life conditions upon the differ- 
ent continents, we must know about these belts of wind 
and rain. 

Winds 

Cause of Winds. — The principal cause of winds is illus- 
trated every time a fire is kindled. The flame warms the 
air and causes it to expand and grow lighter. This lighter 
air is then forced to rise by the pressure of the colder, 
heavier air round about, which pushes in underneath, and, 
by crowding the warm air upward, produces a draught. 
So long as the fire burns, this movement is kept up. 

The winds of the globe are produced in a similar 
manner. Whenever the air is cooler in one place tlian in 
neighboring regions, the cool, heavy air settles down, flows 
beneath the warmer air and slowly raises it. Then the 
warm air, wliicli has Ijcen lifted, flows out and away at a 
higher altitude. Tims, eitlier in the case of a gentle 
breeze or of a violent hurricane, we may think of four 
L 146 



146 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



directions of movement of the air. Illustrate them by a 
drawing. 

The Wind Belts So long as the vertical rays of the 

sun produce a heated belt near the equator, with cooler 
air to the north and south where the rays are slanting, 
there must be an extensive system of winds on the earth. 
From the cooler regions on the two sides, the air flows 
steadily toward the central part of the heated belt, pro- 
ducing the trade winds (Figs. 24 and 25). As the trade 
winds approach the central line of the heated belt, or the 




-SOUTH POLE 

Fig. 24. 
Diagram to show, by arrows, the movement of the greater winds of the earth. 



heat equator, they travel more slowly. Then, owing to 
expansion from heat, and to pressure from the colder air 
behind, the air rises over a broad area to a great height. 
In this belt of rising air, whatever winds are felt are light 
and changeable, and calms often prevail ; hence the name 
belt of calms. 

At an elevation of several thousand feet this air flows 
outward, above the trade winds,, toward the poles, produc- 
ing the anti-trades (Fig. 24). About a third of the distance 
to the poles, near latitude 30°, much of the air of the anti- 
trades settles to the earth again, near the place where the 



WIND Jyi> BAIN BELTS 



147 







X3 



4i*i^ 



t^ 




^ 



_s 



Qi 






-^nr 



.^^ 






^\ 






t 



148 • GENERAL GEOGBAPHY 

trade winds begin. Since tlie movement of the air here is 
downward, there can of course be little wind in this belt, 
which is known as the liorse latitudes (Figs. 24 and 25). 

If the earth did not rotate, the trades and antitrades 
would no doubt follow the meridians directly toward and 
away from the equator ; but rotation turns them from their 
course, to the right in the northern hemisphere, and to the 
left in the southern. Thus the trade winds blow from 
the northeast and the southeast, while the anti-trades re- 
turn in the opposite directions at higher altitudes. 

Beyond the horse latitudes much of the air of the anti- 
trades flows on toward the poles as westerly winds, both 
high in the heavens and at the surface. Travelling on- 
ward, and coming into smaller and smaller space as the 
poles are approached, portions of the air continue to turn 
back toward the equator, while the remainder sweeps on 
as westerly winds. These are plainly felt in the United 
States, Canada, northern and central Europe, and over the 
great Southern Ocean ; and since the prevailing winds over 
these vast areas are from the west, these belts are known as 
the regions oi prevailing tvesterlies (Fig. 25). 

The great wind and calm belts that encircle the earth 
are not always in exactly the same place. As the vertical 
rays of the sun move north and south from tropic to 
tropic, the zone of greatest heat must follow. So the belts 
of heat, and therefore of winds (Figs. 31 and 32), change 
their positions every year, shifting northward in summer 
and southward in winter. 

Rai^t 

Causes for Rain. — Knowing the wind belts that encir- 
cle the earth, we have a key to the principal rain belts ; 



WIND AND RAIN BELTS 140 

for winds are the water carriers of the earth. Water 
which is evaporated from the surface of the oceans and 
lands, is borne along in the air. As rain or snow it de- 
scends to the earth, abundantly along most coasts, and, 
usually, less liberally toward the interior of the continents. 

It is an important fact that there can be more water vapor 
in warm than in cool air. Therefore, whenever air is cooled 
sufficiently some of the water vapor which it bears is condensed. 
For example, vapor condenses on an ice-water pitcher because 
the air next it is cooled; and dew forms on grass when the air 
near the ground grows cool in the evening. In a like manner 
the vapor in our breath forms a little cIgikI when the breath in 
winter is cooled by mixture with the cold outside air. 

Rain is usually caused by the cooling of air which is 
rising to higher levels and therefore expanding. When 
you open the valve of a bicycle tire, the outrushing air 
expands and grows cool ; and if you place your 
finger over the valve, you can feel the coolness. In a simi- 
lar way, when air rises above the surface of the earth it 
expands because there is less air above to press upon 
it. Then it grows cool; and wliile doing so some of its 
vapor may be condensed to form clouds and raindrops. 
So whenever air from the damp oceans is rising over 
highlands, or whenever it is being raised over warm 
lands by the. cooler air that pushes underneath, as in the 
belt of calms, rainfall naturally results. Briefly, — when 
air rises, it expands and cools; and then rain commonly 
folloios. 

On the other hand, air that is settling grows warmer, 
and instead of giving up its vapor, it becomes dry and 
clear. This may again be illustrated by reference to the 



150 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 




Fig. 26. 

The rainy belt of calms of South America. Also the 
rainy east coasts and arid west coasts of the trade- 
wind belts. 



mosphere above. 
Since there can 
be more vapor 
in warm than in 
cool air, when 
air flows down 
the mountain 
slopes, or de- 
scends from 
high altitudes, 
as in the horse 
latitudes, clouds 
disappear and 
water is evapo- 
rated from the 



bicycle; for 
when air is 
pumped into the 
tire, the pump 
becomes warm 
as the air is com- 
pressed. In a 
like manner, air 
that is descend- 
ing toward the 
earth's surface 
is compressed 
and warmed be- 
cause of the 
increasing press- 
ure of the at- 




FiG. 27. 

To illustrate the desert regions in the trade-wind and 
horse latitude belts of Africa. Also to show the 
heavy rainfall in the belt of calms. Find the simi- 
lar belts on Figures 26, 28, and 30. 



WIND AND HA IN BELTS 



151 



ground. Briefly, — when air descends^ it becomes denser and 
grows warmer ; then the sky is clear and the weather dry. 

Rain Belts. — The belt of calms is the most rainy belt 
of the earth (see Figs. 26, 27, and 28), because its 
hot, moisture-laden air is rising and cooling. After a 
clear night in that region, the sun usually rises in a cloud- 
less sky. As the morning advances and the heat grows 
more intense, 
the damp air 
rises more rap- 



idly ; then small 
clouds appear 
and grow stead- 
ily until rain 
falls from them. 
Showers occur 
practically 
every day, in- 
creasing in the 
afternoon. 




100 Longllud. 120 Ent fro 



JDesert 

WiLight Rainfall 

^Moderate " 

[||i[ //eauy " 

^1 Very Heauii •• 



Fig. 28. 

Showing the heavy rainfall on the east-facing coast of 
Australia where the trade winds bloiv. Notice also 
the arid interior and west coast. What is the condi- 
tion in the belt of calms ? What resemblance do you 
see to Figure 30? 



When the sun 
sets and the air 
rises less active- 
ly, the clouds 
melt away, the 

stars appear, and the night is as clear as before. Our hot, 
muggy summer days, with heavy thunder showers in the 
afternoon and evening, illustrate the weather that is re- 
peated day after day in this belt of calms. 

Since the trade winds blow from cooler to warmer re- 
gions, and are therefore steadily growing warmer, their 
air tends to take up moisture rather than to drop it. The 



152 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



• 1^ 


O 


% 


a 






u 


^ 


CI 














0) 


(S. 


ja 






'n? 


T) 






n 








a 


J 




03 




t>J 


to 


^ 


> 


^ 


a 






WIND AND RAIN JiELTS 



158 



trades commence on the edge of the horse latitudes, where 
the descending air is also growing wanner and evaporating 
moisture. Thus both north and south of the rainy belt of 
calms there is a belt of little rainfall. Within these 
belts are the Sahara and most of the other desert 
regions of the earth. Point them out in Figures 26, 27, 




Fio. 30. 
The heavy rainfall where the prevailing westerlies blow over the rising coast. 
What is the comlitiou farther east? What is the case where the trade 
winds blow ? Why ? 

and 28. Whicli of our Pacific Coast States is partly in 
tlie horse latitudes? (Fig. 30.) 

Although the trades are drying winds, they obtain 
mucli vapor wlien they pass over the ocean. Therefore, 
wherever they blow from the ocean upon the rising 
slopes of the land, and especially upon mountain slopes, 



154 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 

the moist air is cooled in rising, and abundant rain falls. 
Owing to this, the eastern or windward slopes of lands in 
the trade-wind belts have abundant rainfall, while the west- 
ern or leeward slopes, and the level interiors of continents, 
have little. Notice how clearly this is shown on the 
rainfall maps (Figs. 26 to 30). What sections in North 
America are thus affected ? 

In the broad belts of westerly winds, where the air rises 
over western coasts and islands, there is heavy rainfall. 
Find examples in Figures 28 and 30. On the other hand, 
slopes further east, in the interior, receive little rainfall 
from such winds and may even be deserts (Fig. 80). 
Name some of our states that are thus made arid. 

Migration of the Rainfall Belts. — Since the belts of heat, and 
therefore of winds, shift north and south each year (p. 28), many 
places have heavy rainfall at one season and dry air at another. 
In the torrid zone, for example, many places are within the 
belt of calms during the summer of their hemisphere, and are 
swept by the drying trades in their cooler months (Figs. 31 and 
32), thus dividing the year into wet and dry seasons. 

Monsoons. — We have thus far studied the great wind 
belts, and the rain belts that are dependent upon them. 
But in many regions these regular winds are greatly inter- 
fered with, and the rainfall must consequently be affected. 
One of the chief sources of such disturbance is the differ- 
ence between the temperature of land and water. 

Land warms and cools much more quickly than water. 
How hot the stones feel in summer compared with pond 
water ! And how quickly the ground freezes in autumn, 
while we are still waiting for skating on the ponds ! Like- 
wise in summer the continents are warmer than the 
oceans; in winter, cooler. 



WIND AND RAIN BELTS 



155 



Places in the interior of continents, far from the ocean, 
naturally have the greatest extremes of temperature. 
During the winter, the heavy air over the cold land settles 




Fig. 31. 
Winds and rainfall in South America and Africa from December to February. 




Fig. 32. 

Winds and rainfall in South America and Africa from June to August. Com- 
pare with Figure 31 to see how the belts of heavy rain have migrated as 
the wind belts have shifted with the change of season. 

down as drying air, and presses outward beneath the 
warmer air which lies over the oceans. This produces 
dry land winds. In summer, on the other hand, the air 



156 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



over the cool waters crowds in, raises tlie hot air of the 
continents, and produces ocean winds and rain. This is 
well illustrated in the southern part of Asia. Heated by 
the nearly vertical rays of the sun during the northern 
summer, the land there becomes warmer than the ocean. 
Toward this heated area the cooler air from over the 
Indian Ocean crowds in, causing ocean winds. 

This makes the summer winds opposite in direction to 
those of winter when the air is flowing out toward the 

warmer Indian 
Ocean from the 
cold lands of 
interior Asia 
(Fig. 34). 
Winds of this 
kind, Av h i c h 
blow in opposite 
directions in 
different sea- 
sons, are better 
developed in 
India than in 
any other part 
of the earth, and 
it was there that 
they received their name, monsoon winds. The term 
monsoon is now applied to inward-flowing summer winds 
and outward-flowing winter winds of any large mass of 
land. 

"When the summer monsoons blow, the rainy season 
comes in India (Fig. 33). The rainfall is especially 
heavy where the moisture-laden air rises up the steep slope 




Fig 



The winds and rainfall during the summer monsoon 
of India. 



WIND AND BAIN BELTS 



157 



of the Himalayas. In one part of this district, opposite the 
head of the Bay of Bengal, there is three times as much 
rain in July alone as falls in well-watered portions of the 
United States during the entire year. The winter mon- 
soon, on the other hand, is so dry that vegetation withers 
and the soil becomes parched and cracked, as in a desert 
(Fig. 34). 

While tlie north and south temperate zones are both called 
temperate, and have many features in common, they are quite 
unlike in some re- 
spects. In the 
northern hemi- 
sphere the broad 
continents become 
very hot in sum- 
mer and cold in 
winter. Since the 
temperature of the 
oceans remains 
more uniform, the 
regular winds are 
greatly interfered 
with, as by the 
monsoons. In the 
south temperate 
zone, on the other 
hand, there is 
little land and a vast expanse of ocean. The temperature 
of the water changes but little, and the narrow lands have 
their temperature largely determined by winds from the oceans. 
In the south temperate zone, therefore, there is little chance 
for winds between land and water to change the course of the 
westerly winds. Hence tlie wost winds blow much more regu- 
larly there than in the northern hemisphere. Sailors call these 
inclement southern latitudes the " roaring forties," und slum 




Fig. ;!4. 

Map of the winter monsoon \\inds and rainfall of 
India. Compare with Figure ?>'^, and notice espe- 
cially how very light the rainfall is in one season anc 
how heavy it is in the opposite season. 



158 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



the stormy voyage around Cape Horn, where the west winds 
blow with wonderful steadiness. 

Cyclonic Storms. — There is another great source of dis- 
turbance of the regular winds, which we studied about in the 

preceding book. 
It was learned 
there that in 
northern United 
States and 
southern Can- 
ada there ap- 
pears, every few 
days, an area of 
low pressure 
where the air is 
lighter than that 
over the sur- 
rounding re- 
gion. Toward 
such a low-pres- 
sure area heavier 
air from the sur- 
rounding coun- 
try hurries, even 
distances 
of hundreds of 
miles. Thus winds are caused which on the south side 
blow from the south, on the east side from the east, etc. 

Owing to the earth's rotation, these winds are turned 
from their straight course and therefore move spirally 
toward the centre of low pressure. On nearing this centre 
the air rises, and as it does so the vapor condenses, forming 




Fig. 35. 
A cycloBic storm in Europe which came from the ocean 
The heavy black line shows the course followed by its ■fy.p.y^-, 
centre. Notice how the winds blow toward the centre. 



WIND AND RAIN BELTS l.")9 

clouds and rain. Such great, whirling eddies of air, with 
their accompanying clouds and rain, are known as cyclonic 
storms. It is these that cause most of the rainfall of 
northeastern United States and Canada. 

We learned further, that instead of remaining in one 
place, the cyclonic storms steadily travel onward, usually 
beginning in the northwest or southwest and always pass- 
ing eastward. They generally follow the Great Lakes, 
pass down the St. Lawrence, and then out upon the ocean, 
which they frequently cross, even entering Europe. In- 
deed, they sometimes travel far into Asia before finally 
dying out. 

Since the movement of their centre is always eastward, 
these storms are doubtless a part of the prevailing wester- 
lies. But since they are composed of currents of air from 
all directions, they are a source of numerous disturbances 
in the lower layers of this great eastward drift of air. 
Indeed, they resemble eddies in a river, where the water 
of the eddies is whirling around in various directions, 
though the general current of the river is down stream. 

In Europe and western Asia, as in America, the extent 
of the country upon which rain may be falling from the 
clouds of one of these storms is sometimes very great. 
Places hundreds of miles apart may be receiving rain at 
the same time. In Eurasia also, as in America, the weather 
is made changeable by these storms. That is, in any 
particular locality it may be warm and pleasant one day, 
stormy the next, then clear and cool or cold. Similar 
cyclonic storms develop in the prevailing westerly belt of 
the southern hemisphere, where they bring changes of 
weather to southern South America, Australia, and the 
islands of the great Southern Ocean. 



160 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 

Review Questions. — (1) Why should we study about winds ? 
(2) Explain the cause of wind. (3) Explain the trade winds. 
(4) Tell about the belt of calms. Locate the belt. (5) Explain the 
anti-trade winds. (6) Where are the horse latitudes ? How about 
the wind there ? (7) What directions are taken by trades and anti- 
trades ? Why ? (8) What are the prevailing westerlies ? Where 
felt ? (9) Why do these belts of wind shift north and south each 
year ? (10) Explain how it happens that when air rises, rain com- 
monly follows. (11) Also, why, when it settles, dry weather results. 
(12) Tell about the rainfall in the belt of calms. (13) In the trade-wind 
belts. (14) In the horse latitudes. (15) In the belt of prevailing 
westerlies. (16) Why do some places have both a rainy and a dry 
season each year? (17) Explain monsoons. (18) Where are they 
best developed ? (19) What is their influence on rainfall ? (20) Why 
are the winds in the northern hemisphere less regular than those in 
the southern ? (21) Tell about cyclonic storms in the United States. 
(22) In Eurasia. 

Suggestions. — (1) Make a drawing to show the direction of the 
regular winds of the world. (2) Watch the higher clouds to see in 
what direction they are moving. (3) Explain what is meant by a 
rainfall of sixty inches. (4) Measure the amount of rain that falls in 
a wash-tub during a single storm. (5) Write a clear statement of the 
reason why there are desert belts both north and south of the equator. 
Give examples. (6) Examine and explain some maps issued by the 
Weather Bureau. (7) Observe and record the changes in wind 
direction, temperature, and rainfall during the passage of a cyclonic 
storm. (8) Read the chapter on cyclonic storms in Tarr's First 
Book of Physical Geography, pp. 102-125. 



V. DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE AND A 
STUDY OF OCEAN CURRENTS 

Distribution of Temperature 

Although you have studied about belts of wind and 
rain, you have noted that there are many irregularities 
and exceptions. This is due to the fact that the boun- 
daries of the heat belts are also irregular, as is shown 
by the isotherms ^ on the isothermal charts of tlie world. 

If nothing else influenced temperature excepting dis- 
tance from the equator, the isothermal lines would be 
parallel to the circles of latitude. In our study of North 
America, however, we have already learned that the 
temperature of a country is determined by several factors 
besides latitude. These are (1) altitude; (2) the nearness 
to a large body of water ; (3) the direction of tlie •prevailing 
tvinds; and (4) ocean currents. Let us see how each 
of these causes interferes with the regularity of the iso- 
therms. 

Effect of Highlands. — Mountains are colder in both 
summer and winter than low lands in the same latitude. 
Therefore, in crossing mountain chains the isotherms bend 
toward the equator. Our small maps do not show this. 

Effect of Distance from Sea. — Comparing Figures 36 and 

* An isotherm is a line connecting places having the same average 
temperature. 

M 161 



162 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 




DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPEBATUEE 



!»;:] 




164 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 

37 you will notice that the winter isotherms of the north 
temperate zone bend tovmrd the equator over the conti- 
nents because the land then becomes very cold. During 
the summer, on the contrary, the isotherms curve pole- 
ward, showing that the interiors are then warmer than 
the coast lands in the same latitude. This gives great 
temperature changes from winter to summer, as, for ex- 
ample, on the plains of the United States and Canada. 
\Vhere else on the charts do you find similar extremes of 
temperature ? In what continent is there a still greater 
seasonal change in temperature than in North America? 
Why? 

Effect of Prevailing Winds. — Along the coast of western 
North America, from California to Alaska, the isotherms 
do not follow the parallels of latitude, as we might expect, 
but extend northward and southward almost parallel with 
the coast. The reason for this peculiarity is that the 
prevailing winds are the westerlies, which, blowing from 
the Pacific, bring to the land the nearly uniform tempera- 
ture of the ocean. Can you find other windward coasts 
where a similar influence is exerted ? 

You will notice that there is only about 20° difference 
between winter and summer temperatures on the western 
coast of North America. But on the eastern coast of the 
United States the difference between summer and winter 
is much more marked, because, while some of the winds 
are from the ocean, still more are from the land, which is 
cold in winter and warm in summer. Compare the 
eastern and western coasts of Eurasia in this respect. 
Why does the southeastern coast of South America 
have less change from summer to winter than north- 
eastern North America ? 



distribution of temperature 165 

Ocean Currents 

Cause of Ocean Currents. — There are also many- 
variations in the course of the isotlierms over the 
oceans. To explain these it is necessary to understand 
the ocean currents, which, you will remember, are caused 
by the winds. By blowing steadily over the surface of 
the water the winds not only set it dancing in waves, but 
also cause it to drift before them. This fact is illustrated 
by the currents along the northern shores of the Indian 
Ocean. In winter the waters flow south westward, driven 
by the northeast monsoon ; but during the summer mon- 
soon, when the wind changes to the southwest, the currents 
are reversed, and there is a drift toward the northeast. 

Knowing the direction of the regular winds, we can 
understand the course of the ocean currents. Were there 
no continents, the waters of the ocean would drift round 
the earth in two sets of opposite currents, eastward in 
temperate latitudes, where the prevailing westerlies blow, 
and westward in the trade- wind belts. 

In the broad expanse of ocean to the south of Africa and 
South America, where there are no lands to check the water, 
there is a steady eastward drift of the water (Fig. 38). But 
where the oceans are partly enclosed between the conti- 
nents, the great currents are so turned by the land as to 
form five vast eddies of slowly drifting surface waters, two 
north of the equator and three south of it. These bring 
enormous quantities of cool water into the torrid zone, so 
tempering the heat as to make that region habitable. 
And they also bear back toward polar latitudes stores of 
heat sufficient to adapt, to man's commerce and tillage, 
shores and lands that would otherwisl; be icebound. 



166 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 

The Pacific Currents. — In the Pacific Ocean the equa- 
torial drift, caused by the northeast and southeast trades, 
moves toward the continents and islands of the Old World 
(Fig. 38). Upon approaching these lands the drifts are 
turned, a part to the south, a part to the north. Under 
the influence of the earth's rotation the southern current 
is turned to the left, the northern to the right. Thus the 
northern current swings past the East Indies and Japan, 
and, still turning under the influence of rotation, leaves the 
Asiatic coast and returns toward America, now driven by 
the westerly winds as a broad drift. Approaching British 
Columbia, most of the water continues to circle to the 
right, passing southward and, as it turns eastward again 
in the trade-wind belt, finally completing the great eddy 
of the North Pacific. 

Where this drift crosses from Japan it is known as the 
Japan Current (Fig. 38). In its waters tree trunks and 
other tropical products are borne far away to the treeless 
islets northeast of Japan. The northward bend of the 
isotherms over the ocean (Fig. 36) suggests the enormous 
stores of heat which this current carries from the torrid 
^one. The westerly winds bear some of this warmth to 
the western slopes of Canada and the United States. 

A small branch of the current turns northward along the 
Alaskan coast, and its warm waters temper the winds of Alaska. 
There is also a current between the Japan Current and the 
coast of Asia. But this is a drift of cold water from the north, 
as you can see by noticing how it bends the isotherms south- 
ward near the coast (Fig. 37). Winds from this cold current 
chill the Siberian coast, and cause the harbors, like that of 
Vladivostok, to be icebound in winter. This explains why 
Eussia has leased the Chinese harbor at Port Arthur south of 




o « 



168 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 

Korea, as a terminus of the great Siberian railway, — that her 
commerce and war-ships might not be shut up in winter. 

Eddies of the Southern Oceans. — In the South Pacific, 
South Atlantic, and Indian oceans, the same causes have 
produced eddies similar to that of the North Pacific ; but 
here the earth's rotation deflects both winds and water 
currents to the left. Some of the water of these eddies 
joins the broad West Wind Drift of the distant southern 
ocean ; but much of it turns northward until it once more 
reaches the trade-wind belt, thus completing the eddies. 

The north-moving portion of these eddies brings cool water 
toward the equator and thus chills the ocean, and, therefore, 
the winds that blow upon the neighboring lands. On Fig- 
ure 36 find some places where the isotherms bend northward, 
showing this effect of these currents. Where do they bend 
southward, showing that warm water is being carried from 
the torrid zone ? Compare the isothermal and ocean current 
charts (Figs. 36, 37, and 38) to see which currents are responsi- 
ble for this bending of the isotherms. 

North Atlantic Currents. — In the North Atlantic the 
isotherms are even more irregular, and we readily see that 
the effect of the currents on the lands and peoples is 
more important. To value rightly these effects on life 
we should know their causes. Since the eastern angle of 
South America is south of the equator, it turns more of 
the equatorial drift of water into the North Atlantic than 
into the South Atlantic, as Figure 38 shows. The greater 
part of this northward-moving drift circles to the right, 
outside the West Indies (Fig. 39), and crosses the ocean 
toward Spain. A large portion of it then returns to the 
trade- wind belt, completing the eddy. 



DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE 



169 



A small part of the equatorial drift passes into the 
Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and there is heated 
still further. Escaping between Florida and Cuba, this 
current is increased in velocity as it is forced through 




Fig. :5!). 
A diagram to show the currents of the North Atlantic. In order to ilhistrate 
the currents clearly it has seemed necessary to make them as if they were 
sharply bounded, like a river in its channel. As a matter of fact, however, 
the boundaries of these great currents and drifts are so indefinite that, in 
crossing them, one would not be able to detect the boundaries even by using 
the greatest care. 

that narrow strait. Its speed increases to four or five 
miles per hour, and it therefore well deserves the name 
of Gulf Stream. 

Turning toward the right, the Gulf Stream reaches the 
belt of prevailing westerly winds, where its waters are 



170 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 

driven onward to the northern coast of Europe. This 
drift is joined by water, driven by the west winds, from 
the great North Atlantic Eddy, and thus vast quantities 
of warm water are moved into tlie northeastern Atlantic 
and even into the Arctic to the north of Europe. 

Westerly winds, warmed in passing over this drift, have 
made possible the great civilized nations of northern Europe, 
the fatherland of so many Americans. What a striking con- 
trast these nations present to the scattered savages of dreary 
Labrador and Kamchatka, in the same latitude, whose winds 
come either from the land or from over cold currents. Notice 
how far northward the isotherms of the northeastern Atlantic 
curve in January (Fig. 36), when the strong westerly winds of 
that season bear warm waters onward into the cold northern 
ocean. Owing to this warmth Russia is able to have a harbor 
on the very shores of the Arctic. 

Much of the water which enters the Arctic from the 
south returns in the Labrador Current (Fig. 39), a cold 
current which flows between the Gulf Stream and the 
shores of Labrador and New England. It is partly the 
easterly cyclonic winds from over this cold current that 
make Labrador so bleak, and the New England coast so 
agreeable in summer and so damp and chilly in winter. 

The isotherms of the North Atlantic are close together as 
they leave America, but spread apart like a fan toward the 
Old World (Figs. 36 and 37). The cause is evident. On the 
American side the currents approach each other, one from the 
north bearing Arctic cold, the other from the warm south. 
This causes great temperature contrasts between our northern 
and southern coasts. On the European side one part of 
the ocean drift passes northward, raising the temperature and 
bending the isotherms far northward. The remainder turns 
southward and, being somewhat cooler than the region into 



BISTBIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE 171 

which it enters, slightly loAvers the temperature and bends the 
isotherms southward. Thus the isotherms are spread apart. 

When the first settlers came from England they ex- 
pected to find in the New World a climate like their own 
in the same latitude. They were unprepared for the 
severe winters which they actually found, and thus the 
first settlements on the New England and Canadian coasts 
were failures. 

Review Questions — (1) What factors determine the temperature 
of a country? (2) What is an isotherm? (3) How do highlands 
affect the isotherms? (4) Give examples showing how isotherms 
are affected by distance from the ocean. (5) By prevailing winds. 
(6) State the cause of ocean currents. (7) Locate the five vast eddies 
of ocean waters. (8) Tell about the Japan Current and its effects. 
(9) Tell about other currents in the North Pacific and their 
effects. (10) Tell about the eddies in the southern oceans, and 
their influence on the isotherms. (11) Describe tlie Xorth Atlantic 
Eddy and the Gulf Stream. (12) How do they influence the iso- 
therms? (lo) In what respects ai'e the Gulf Stream and the West 
Wind Drift particularly important? (14) Locate the Labrador Cur- 
rent and state its influences. (15) How are ocean currents of great 
sei'vice in both frigid and torrid zones? 

Suggestions — (1) Does the presence of a warm or cold current 
near a certain country necessarily greatly affect the climate of that 
country? (2) Locate the cold ocean currents of the world. The 
warm currents. (3) What is the effect of warm currents upon the 
building of coral islands? (4) Tell about the icebergs in the Labrar- 
dor Current. (5) Estimate the length of the circumference of the 
great eddy in the North Pacific. (6) Name several points in the 
world that have about the same average temjierature in January 
as Chicago. (7) Which of these would have about the same ranrje 
of temperature, — or difference between summer and winter, — that 
Chicago has? (8) What is meant by the heat equator? Where is it 
in July? (Figs. 31 and 32.) In January? Where farthest from the 
geographic equator? Why? (9) Follow one of the isotherms on the 
map and explain the larger irregularities. 



VI. PLANTS AND ANIMALS 

Zones of Life. — As there are three zones of climate, 
— tropical, temperate, and frigid, — so there are three 
great divisions of life ; for both plants and animals vary 
with temperature and rainfall. State some reasons wh}'- 
this must be true and give illustrations. But since there 
are differences of climate within each of the great zones, 
there must also be differences in the plant and animal life. 
We shall now study about some of the great life zones. 

Tropical Forest Belt. — The tropical zone is a region of 
continual warmth and, in many portions, of abundant 
rainfall. Name some of the sections in this belt that 
have heavy rainfall. In this hot climate the vegetation 
retains its leaves and grows throughout the year. Owing 
to this fact and to the abundant moisture, the foliage is 
very heavy (Fig. 40) and the ground is densely shaded. 
Among the trees there are many of great value either for 
their wood, their sap, or their fruits. Mention some of 
them. Name some valuable food plants that grow only 
in tropical regions. 

The dense foliage of the forests greatly hinders evaporation, 
and renders the atmosphere so damp that many plants thrive 
with their roots in the air instead of in the soil. Aside from 
trees, therefore, there are vines and hanging plants without 
number (Fig. 86), some of the most beautiful kinds being 
the orchids which abound. The forest tangle thus produced 
is almost impenetrable. 

172 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 



The labor required to clear land producing such vegeta- 
tion — and to keep it clear for farming — is far greater 
than in the temperate forest regions of the United States. 
This difficulty is increased, too, by the extreme heat and 




Fig. 40. 

A view iu the tropical forest of South America, sliowiug the dense tangle of 

vegetation. 

by the unhealthfulness resulting from dampness. For 
these reasons, in spite of the great fertility of the soil, 
the zone of dense tropical forests is almost everywhere 
sparsely inhabited ; and in nearly every case its iiiliabll- 



174 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



ants are savages. They have become accustomed to the 
climate, and, owing to the ever present supply of food 
which the surrounding trees and bushes afford, they find 
little work necessary. Is that good fortune for them? 
On the other hand, there is an enormous variety of ani- 
mals in this forest belt. Can you give reasons why ? 

Among the animals insects are especially abimdant. Some, like 
the beautiful butterflies, thrive because of the abundance and 

variety of tropical 
flowers ; others, like 
many species of ants, 
live in the decaying 
wood ; and still 
others have their 
homes in the ground. 
Some are harmless ; 
but many, like the 
ants, which swarm 
in great numbers, 
are very trouble- 
some. 

Where there is 
much fruit and in- 
sect life for food, 
birds abound ; and 
the variety and 
beauty of the hum- 
ming-birds, parrots, 
paroquets, birds of 
paradise, and other species of bird life in the tropical forest, 
are far famed. 

Among the mammals there is less variety and abundance, 
the greatest number, as the monkeys and sloths (Fig. 81), being 
tree-dwellers. Others, like the tapir, live in the swampy 
undergrowth; and some very large animals, like the rhinoce- 




FiG. 41. 
The tiger of India. 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 



'O 



ros and elephant (Fig. 52), still live in the dense forest, where 
it is difficult to hunt them. Occasionally, too, fierce animals, 
such as the tiger (Fig. 41), in the Old World, and the jaguar, 
in the Ncav, lurk in the densely growing vegetation, ready to 
pounce upon the more defenceless, plant-eating animals. 

Reptiles also thrive in the warmth and dampness of the 
forest. Great snakes twine themselves like huge vines among 
the trees and underbrush, and jjoisonous serpents are common. 
The standing bodies of water encourage water life, — for ex- 
ample, the turtle and alligator among reptiles, and the hippo- 
potamus and manatee among mammals. 

It is, first of all, the dampness and warmth that lead to so 
much animal life. But another fact should also be kept in 
mind ; namely, that there is a great abundance of plants upon 
which the animals can feed. Even those, like the jaguar, that 
live upon other animals, are finally dependent upon plants ; 
for the animals upon which they feed are, in most cases, 
plant eaters. 

Savannas. — On either side of the tropical forest is a 
belt where the temperature is always high, but where the 
rainfall varies with the season, being rainy Avhen the belt 
of calms migrates to it, and dry in the opposite season 
Avhen s"wept by the trade winds (p. 34). This belt of 
alternate dry and moist conditions is best developed in 
the interior of continents, and is rarely found on east- 
facing coasts. Why not ? 

Owing to the absence of rain during one season, dense 
forests are impossible ; but some plants, sucli as grasses, 
thrive. These are therefore grass-covered lands and are 
known as savannas (Fig. 42). 

The dounis of northern Australia, the park lands lying 
both north and south of the equator in Africa, the campos 
of Brazil, and the llanos of Venezuela and Colombia, are all 



176 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



examples of savannas. They are dry and barren in one 
season, fresh and green in the other. Trees, such as palms, 
line the streams ; but elsewhere the land is open. G-rass-eating 
animals roam about; for example, in Africa the antelope, 
gazelle, zebra, giraffe, buffalo, elephant, and rhinoceros. In 
addition there are some flesh-eating animals, such as the lion 
(Fig. 43). 




Fig. 42. 
Negro huts on the savanna along the Upper Nile. 

While tropical forests are unsuited. to the life of any 
persons but indolent savages, the open savannas invite 
human inhabitants in spite of the heat. They also com- 
pel industry, because provision must be made for the 
period of drought. Therefore those African negroes who 
inhabit the grass lands keep flocks and carry on rude 
forms of agriculture. Where settled by white men, 
these savannas are to-day mainly grazing lands ; but they 
are no doubt destined to become the seat of important 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 



177 



agriculture, for they are adapted to the cultivation of 
many subtropical plants. 

The Desert. — While the savannas grade into tropical 
forests on the side next to the equator, tliey are gradually 
replaced by deserts on the other side. Locate these deserts 
in Australia south of the equator, in Asia north of the 




Fig. 43. 
The African lion. 



equator, and in Africa and America on both sides of the 
equator (Figs. 26-30). Explain their aridity. 

In the desert there are vast stretches in which the sand 
is moved before the wind and piled into sand hills or dunes. 
There are also tracts glistening with salt where the water 
of interior basins has evaporated and left salt upon the 
surface. Parts of the desert are broad plains ; but there 
are also stony plateaus, deep valleys, and mountain ranges. 



GENERAL GEOGBAniY 




Throughout much of the desert there is such a hick of 

rain that the surface is barren and desolate at all times. 

But even there, plants and animals are not entirely 

lacking. In some sections there are scattered clumps 

of coarse grass ; and 
there are prickly plants, 
like the cacti and the 
acacias, in which the 
leaves and stems are as 
small as possible to pre- 
vent evaporation. In 
place of a dense tropi- 
cal foliage there is a 
marked absence of 
leaves, and a large part 
of the plant is under- 
ground. This is be- 
cause the roots must 
struggle hard to find the necessary moisture, and the por- 
tion above ground must use as little moisture as possible 
and waste none ; for years may pass before rain comes. 

That the soil is usually fertile is proved by the fact 
that wherever there is fresh water, as along a stream, 
vegetation thrives. Such watered spots in the desert are 
called oases. The Sahara caravans halt in these garden 
patches, where tall date palms grow and supply a fruit of 
great value as a food. 

One of the few animals native to the deserts of the Old 
World is the ostrich. Another, much used by man, is the 
camel (Fig. 44). The latter well illustrates how animals 
become adapted to their surroundings. Each foot has a broad 
sole which aids it in travelling by preventing the feet from 



The " Ship of the Desert." 



Why so named ? 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 



17!» 



sinking into the sand. The nostrils can be ch)secl when neces- 
sary and the eyes are protected by a veil of hair. Both of 
these devices are of much use in keeping out the sand which 
is so often blown about. The camel is further provided with 
pouches in which enough water may be stored to serve it two 
or three days ; and owing to its fatty hump, which can be drawn 
upon for the nourishment of its body, it can also go without 
food longer than most other animals. 



Human beings naturally shun the desert. Permanent 
homes can exist onl}^ on the oases (Fig. 45) ; but wander- 
ing tribes, or nomads, roam about there. They live in 
temporary tents, 
and are engaged 
in herding, or in 
driving caravans 
of camels laden 
with articles of 
trade. Sometimes 
they even raid 
the caravans of 
others for the 
booty they may 
obtain. 

Life in Temperate Zones, 
is typically forest covered. 




Loading a camel ou au oasis iu Als^eria. 



- The land of temperate zones 
This is not due to abundance 
of rainfall so much as to moderate evaporation in the cool 
climate, which permits the ground to remain moist througii- 
out the summer. Thus a broad forest belt crosses the 
northern interiors of both North America and Europe. 
Owing to the less extensive rainfall in some parts, and to 
the rigor of the climate in others, the forest is more open 
than in the tropics. 



180 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 

Steppes and Arid Plains. — There are also treeless, grass- 
covered lands in the temperate belt, usually on the border 
of the deserts in the interior of continents where the rain- 
fall is light. In the Old World, where these tracts are 
called steppes, there is a broad strip extending from south- 
eastern Europe to central Asia. The G-reat Plains of 




Fig. 4G. 
A group of Persian nomads with their summer tents. 

western North America, and the treeless plains, or pampas^ 
of Argentina are also steppes (Fig. 91). 

Spring rains cause the grass to be green in spring and 
early summer ; but drought then changes it to gray and 
yellow. There are no trees excepting along the streams ; 
and only on the very border of the steppes is there rain- 
fall enough for agriculture without irrigation. The wild 
animals are grass eaters (herhivora), and the steppes 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 181 

formerly supported great herds of deer, antelope, and 
bison ; but cattle, sheep, horses, and camels have largely 
replaced them. The inhabitants of the steppes in the Old 
World have for many centuries led a pastoral life and 
have become nomads. They wander about and live in 
tents during the summer (Fig. -16) ; but in winter they 
select more permanent homes for the sake of protection 
against the weather. They depend upon the horse to such 
an extent that it has become almost a part of their life. 

Prairies. — Besides the vast tracts of arid steppes, there are 
some treeless plains even in parts of the temperate zone where 
the rainfall is heavy enough for tree growth. Examples of 
these are the x)rairies in the United States and some of the 
plains in southern Russia. Some think that fires have removed 
the forests ; others that the fine-grained soil has prevented tree 
growth ; but probably each cause has aided. 

Forests of the Temperate Zone. — Near the torrid zone 
the trees are for the most part tropical in kind. In the 
cooler tem2:)erate latitudes, however, they are principally of 
two sorts : (1) the evergreens^ including the pine, spruce, 
and hemlock, that have needle-like leaves which remain 
green throughout the winter, and (2) the deciduous trees, 
whose leaves are much larger, but fall when frost comes. 

The value of the forests to man is great, for the coldness of 
the climate in the densely inhabited temperate zone demands 
that men shall build permanent houses for their protection. 
To what other uses is the wood put ? On the other hand, the 
forests have interfered with man's development, for the trees 
must be cut away before agriculture is possible. In Europe, 
however, a large part of the forest has been removed, and 
much has also been cleared away in the United States. "What 
about Canada ? 



182 



GENERAL GEOGEAPRY 



The temperate forest was the home of many wild animals, 
now mostly exterminated, or greatly reduced in number. 
Name some of those of North America. Owing to the coldness 
of the northern sections these animals are protected by fur, 
which men find of such use that the hunting of fur-bearing 
animals is one of their occupations in the forest. 



People of the Temperate Zone. — In the temperate zone 
of North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, 
both the cleared forest lands and the humid, grass-covered 
plains have become the seats of extensive agricultural 

industries. In 
fact, the temper- 
ate zones are 
the agricultural 
zones of the 
world, and they 
might almost be 
called the zones 
of grain (Fig. 
47). Make a list 
of the grains that 
are cultivated ; 
also of the fruits. 
In this tem- 
perate belt, too, man has developed most highly. The 
simple life of the savage in the tropical forest, and of the 
nomad on the desert and steppes, contrasts strikingl}' with 
the varied life of the agricultural people in the temperate 
belt. Not only are the latter more highly civilized, but 
they have so increased in numbers that the temperate zone 
is the most densely populated belt in the world. Suggest 
some reasons for this. 




Fig. 47. 

A field of grain in Russia with the forest in the back- 
ground — a familiar scene in the cool temperate 
belt. Have you seen a view resembling this ? 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 



183 



Life in the Frigid Zone. — As one passes to the colder 
margin of the north temperate zone the trees become 
stunted and the conditions grow less favorable to agricul- 
ture. Beyond this, stretch vast expanses of frozen ground 
known as the tundras. These are covered with snow in 




Fig. 4S. 
A cainp on the edge of the tundra of northern Asia. What do you see iu this 

picture? 

winter j but in summer, when the snow melts, they are in 
most places exposed to the air. 

During summer the frost leaves the ground to a depth of 
two or three feet, although below that depth the earth remains 
frozen for scores of feet. The continual thawing at this sea- 
son keeps the soil so moist that the tundras are everywhere 
swampy, even on the hillsides. Then everything grows raj)- 
idly ; the green grass springs up and bright flowers dot the 
turf. No large bushes or trees are to be seen, for all plants 
remain as close to the ground as possible. Why should they ? 



184 GENEBAL GEOGRAPHY 

These regions are often compared with the tropical deserts 
in their absence of animal life ; and the reindeer is compared 
to the camel because it permits a few persons to eke out an 
existence in the frozen desert (Fig. 48). But there are differ- 
ences ; the tundra is a desert becaixse the cold prohibits most 
forms of life during the greater part of the year, while the 
tropical desert is alioays forbidding. Why ? During the short 
summer, when the tundra blossoms into life, swarms of insects, 
especially mosquitoes, infest the morasses ; and the berries of 
the previous season, uncovered from the snows, supply food to 
land birds. Why should these birds, together with the foxes 
and polar bears, be protected with thick tvh ite coats ? 

While life in most forms is scarce on the tundras, along the 
seacoast it exists in abundance. Vast numbers of birds feed 
upon the minute sea animals in summer, and migrate southward 
in winter when ice covers the sea and cuts off their food supply. 
The walrus, whale, narwhal, and seal sport in the water, the 
latter in such numbers as to supply the chief food for the scat- 
tered colonies of Eskimos and other people who live along the 
coast. 

Oceanic Life. — There is little variety in the plant life 
of the sea. Animal life, on the other hand, is extremely 
varied and abundant. Countless millions of minute crea- 
tures, floating in the surface waters, serve as food for larger 
species, such as the whale and the food fishes. Some of 
the food fishes, as the mackerel and menhaden, swim at the 
surface in multitudes, called schools. Others, as the hali- 
but and cod, live on the bottom, especially on those shallow 
banks that are swept by the food-bringing currents. 

Animals inhabit all parts of the ocean, even the deep sea 
and the surface water far from land. But the chief fishing 
grounds are the seacoast itself and those shallow banks near 
the coast that can be easily reached. Besides the various 
species of food fish, there are shellfish, such as clams and oys- 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 



185 



ters ; and crustaceans, such as crabs and lobsters. Among the 
important lower forms unsuited for food are the sponges, and 
the tiny corals out of whose limy skeletons many islands in 
the ocean have been built. 

Some of the higher ocean animals once lived entirely on 
land, and have slowly adajDted themselves to the ocean. 
The polar bear, for instance, lives partly on the 
ice-covered sea ; and many birds, as the penguins 
and ducks, spend part of their time in the water. 
The seals, related to the bears, still crawl upon 
the shore at times, though their natural home is 
now the water ; but the whale never leaves the 
water, though he must still have air to breathe. 

Causes for Distribution of Plants and 

Animals In what has been said 

about the tropical forests, the 
camel, seal, and whale, there lies 
the suggestion that the different 
sections of the earth 
were not sup- 
plied with cer- 
tain forms of 
life at the be- 
ginning which 
they were to 
p reserve 
throughout 

all ages. On the contrary, it seems that plants and ani- 
mals, like man himself, have been forced to adapt them- 
selves to the conditions which surrounded them. 

This is now generally believed to be the truth. Plants 
and animals, like the earth itself, have been constantly 
changing ; and the wonderful ways in wliicli they are now 




Fig. 40. 
The kangaroo of Australia. 



186 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 

adapted to their surroundings is the result of ages of 
struggle in which tens of thousands of species have been 
destroyed because they could not fit themselves to the 
changing conditions. This conclusion finds support from 
a study of life upon oceanic islands. 

Many islands far from land support some of the plants 
and animals that exist upon the nearest continents. For 
instance, the Bermudas have forms of life similar to those 
of North America. But many of the species living on the 
mainland, particularly those kinds that could not endure 
a long journey, are absent from such islands. 

Birds, bats, and insects, being able to fly, naturally find 
their way to the islands. Some reptiles are also found, 
since, without food or water, they are able to float long dis- 
tances clinging to logs. But large and highly developed 
mammals, like the elephant, tiger, or deer, are almost always 
absent from oceanic islands. 

Australia is really a great oceanic island ; but it has many 
large animals which differ from those found on the other 
continents. There are kangaroos (Fig. 49), some varieties 
of which are large, others small like rats, but all of which 
leap clumsily about on two legs, aided by the large, mus- 
cular tail. And there is the duck-billed platypus, which, 
though a mammal, lays eggs as birds and reptiles do. 
The peculiarity of these Australian mammals is that their 
young are not nearly so developed as are the young of the 
higher mammals. Other Australian mammals, birds, and 
even plants are also peculiar. 

Fossils in the rocks prove that, long ago, animals similar 
to those of Australia lived on the other continents. It 
is believed that mammals reached Australia in those 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 



181 



ancient times when that continent was still connected 

with other lands. Then came a sinking of a part of the 

earth's crust, 

separating 

Australia 

from the other 

continents, 

where fierce 

animals later 

developed 

which were 

unable to 

cross the sea 

to Australia. Fio 5^ 

Therefore the The llama of Peru, a South American animal not found in 
weak mam- North America. 

mals were able to survive in Australia while the same 
kind elsewhere were destroyed. 





Fig. 51. 

Buffalo cow and camel in the Nile. These animals are common to Africa 
and southern Asia. 

North and South America have some animals in com- 
mon, such as the puma, jaguar, and tapir ; but on the 



188 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



whole there is a marked difference between the faunas of 
the two continents (Fig. 50). One reason for this differ- 
ence is that in past ages South America was entirely cut 
off from the northern continent. 

Africa has much the same climate as South America ; 
but, being so widely separated by ocean water, the faunas 
of these two continents are entirely 
different. On the other hand, many 
of the animals of southern Asia, such 
as the lion and elephant (Fig. 52), 
are similar to those of Africa (Fig. 
51), since the two land areas are so 
close together. 

The north temperate zone, includ- 
ing much of North America and 
Eurasia, has closely related species of 
plant and animal life. Throughout 
this vast area there are pines, spruces, 
hemlocks, oaks, maples, etc., on the 
one hand, and bears, wild cats, 
wolves, deer, foxes, beavers, etc., 
on the other. The reindeer of 
Europe and Asia (Fig. 48) is almost 
identical with the caribou of Amer- 
ica ; and there is also a close re- 
semblance among the birds. This 
similarity is partly due to similarity 
in climate, and partly, perhaps, to a 
former connection of the two lands. There is, however, 
little resemblance between the life of this belt and that of 
central Africa and southern Asia ; for the vast desert belt 
and the lofty mountains have served as barriers to the 
spread of plants and animals. 




Fig. 52. 

The elephant, an animal 
common to southern 
Asia and Africa. 



PLANTS AND ANIMALS 



189 



Tims it is seen that the life on each continent has varied 
from time to time, and that both plants and animals have 
spread wherever conditions allowed. The great- 
est barrier to a general distribution has been the 
ocean ; but deserts and mountains have also 
offered effective resistance. State why. 

Changes throughout the ages, causing variations 
in climate, in the land surface, in the food supply, 
and in the introduction of new enemies, have 
brought death to many species. This may be illus- 
trated by those extinct relatives of the elephant, 
the huge manmioths and mastodons, that formerly 
lived in the cold temper- 
ate zone. It is also 
illustrated by many 
birds. In former times 
running birds (Fig. 5.')), 
like the ostrich, were 
abundant; but they are 
now giving place to small 
flying birds, that are bet- 
ter adapted to their en- 
vironment. 

Man is at present one 
of the most effective 
agents in producing 
changes in the plant and 
animal world. He is 
constantly developing 
new varieties of each, 
while destroying older forms. He has improved and domesti- 
cated many wild animals, but has exterminated some, like the 
auk, and nearly destroyed others, like the bison. The changes 
he has caused in the vegetable kingdom are to be seen on every 
hand. Can you mention some of them ? 




Fig. Tio. 

The emu of Australia, one of the ruuuing 
birds. 



190 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 

Review Questions. — (1) By what factors are life zones deter- 
mined? (2) Describe the conditions of plant life in the tropical 
forest. (3) What effect have these conditions upon human beings? 
(4) Upon animals? (5) What is the origin of savannas? (6) Lo- 
cate some of them. (7) What about plants, animals, and people 
there ? (8) Tell about the desert : cause, characteristics, plants, 
oases, animals, and people. (9) Tell about the conditions of life on 
the steppes and arid plains. (10) What is known about the cause 
of prairies? (11) Tell about the temperate forests: trees, animals, 
and human inhabitants. (12) Tell about life in the frigid zone. 
(13) Tell about the tundras : vegetation, similarity to the desert, 
animal life, and human inhabitants. (14) Tell about ocean life : 
plants, food fishes, other important animals and land animals that have 
learned to live in the sea. (15) What about the adaptation of animals 
to their surroundings ? (16) What light is thrown upon this question 
by the life on ocean islands ? (17) Give some facts about Australian 
animals and the reasons for their peculiarity. (18) Tell about the 
animals on each of the other continents. (19) What are the great 
barriers to the spread of life ? (20) Name some causes for extermi- 
nation of species. 

Suggestions. — (1) Make a collection of different kinds of wood. 
(2) Notice how some of them are polished for use as furniture. (3) See 
some orchids, if possible. (4) Visit a museum to see specimens of 
tropical animals. (5) Examine a cactus closely. (6) Examine and 
compare the foliage of some evergreens and deciduous trees. (7) Find 
out what is meant by evolution and the survival of the fittest, as these 
terms are applied to plants and animals. (8) What dangerous ene- 
mies have you observed for certain plants? (9) For certain animals? 
(10) Collect pictures of animals belonging to different parts of the 
world. 



VII. THE HUMAN RACE 



Divisions of Mankind 

Man, Uke plants and animals, varies in different parts 
of the world. He is influenced by his surroundings, as 
they are, and in the course of time has developed differ- 
ently in the various lands of tlie earth. Concerning the 
origin of the human 
race, and its divisions, 
people hold different 
vicAvs ; but mankind 
in general may be di- 
vided into four great 
groups. 

Ethiopians. — Alto- 
gether there are about 
one and one-half bill- 
ion human beings up- 
on the earth, or twent} 
times the number in 
the United States. 
Of these the lowest are 
the negroes CFigs. 54 
and 62) or Ethiopians, who number about one hundred 
and seventy-five million. This is often called the black 
race. There are many subdivisions of this group, but 
they are all characterized by a deep brown or black skin, 
short, black, woolly hair, broad flat noses, and prominent 
cheek bones. 




Fig. 54. 
An African negro girl. 



192 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



The home of the Ethiopians is Africa south of the 
Sahara desert (Fig. 60), though many have been trans- 
ported to other lands as slaves, and have there mingled 
more or less with the other races. In their original home 
the negroes are savages, or barbarians of low type. 

The native Australians (Fig. 55), the Papuans of New 
Guinea, the Negritos of the Philippines, and the blacks on 

some other islands in that 
part of the world resemble 
the negroes most closely, 
though differing from 
them in some important 
respects. They are 
shorter, for example, their 
hair is less woolly, their 
noses straighter, and their 
lips less thick. 

American Indians. — 
A second great division 
of the human race is that 
of the red men or Ameri- 
can Indians, often called 
the red race. It is the 
smallest of the four 
groups, numbering about twenty-two million. These 
people, who in some respects resemble the Mongolians 
(p. 73), were in possession of both North and South 
America when Columbus discovered America. -They 
were, however, divided into many tribes. While the 
Indians have been largely displaced by white men, many, 
especially in the tropics (Figs. 56, 61, and pp. 107-109), 
are still living in the savage state. 




Fig. 55. 
A native of New South Wales, Australia. 



THE HUMAN RACE 



193 



They are distinguished by a copper-colored skin, promi- 
nent cheek bones, black eyes, and long, coarse black hair. 
When discovered , _ , 

many were sav- 
ages, while others 
had risen to the 
stage of barbar- 
ism. In fact, the 
Aztecs of North 
America and the 
Incas of South 
America had even 
developed some 
of the arts of civ- 
ilization (p. 109). 

Mongolians. — 
The third divi- 
sion, the Mongo- 
lian or yellow race, 
numbering about 
five hundred and forty million, are typically Asiatic 
people, the greater number being found in Asia and the 
islands of the Pacific (Fig. 60). Some, as the Finns, 
Lapps, and Turks, have settled in Europe, while the 
Eskimos have spread eastward along the shores of Arctic 
America. 

The Mongolians, typically represented by the Chinese 
and Japanese (Figs. 57 and 68), have a yellowish and in 
some cases even a white skin, prominent cheek bones, small 
oblique eyes, a small nose, and long, coarse black hair. 
In places, as on the more remote islands, the Mongolians 
are uncivilized ; but the great majority may be classed as 




Fig. 56. 
South American Indians. 



194 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



civilized people, although their standard of civilization 
differs from that of the white race. 

Caucasians. — By far the largest and most civilized of 
the four divisions of mankind is the white or Caucasian 




Fig. 57. 
Japanese ladies. 



race, which numbers about seven hundred and seventy 
million. Their original home is not known. Some be- 
lieve it to have been in the plateau of central Asia, others 
in the northern part of Africa. With the dawn of his- 
tory the white peoples of Europe were mostly barbarians ; 



THE II CM AN RACE 



lor, 



but civilization had begun to develop in soutliern and west- 
ern Asia and along the sliores of the Mediterranean Sea. 

At present the white race occupies most of Europe, 
North and South America, Australia, and large portions 
of Asia and Africa. It 
is the most widely dis- 
tributed of the four di- 
visions (Fig. 60). Be- 
sides Europeans (Fig. 
58) it includes the 
Egyptians, Arabs, and 
Abyssinians of Africa ; 
also the Arabs, Persians, 
Armenians, Afghans, and 
Hindus of Asia (Fig. 
59). 

While for various 
reasons the Caucasians 
differ greatly in charac- 
teristics, two main 
branches are recognized : 
(1) the fair type (Fig. 
58), with florid complex- 
ion, light brown, flaxen, or red hair, blue or gray eyes, and 
height above the average ; (2) the dark type (Fig. 50), 
with fair skin, dark brown and black liair, often wav}' or 
curly, and black eyes. In temperament both are active, 
enterprising, and imaginative, though the fair type is 
more solid, the dark type more emotional. 

Distribution of Races. — For centuries these four great 
divisions of the human race have been changing within 
themselves until there are now many subdivisions of 




Fig. 5s. 
A Belgian peasant girl. 



196 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



each group. By war and invasion they have encroached 
upon one another, and have intermixed to some extent. 
But the leaders are the whites, who, having learned the 
use of ships in exploring distant lands, have spread with 




Fig. 59. 
A group of Indian Brahmins, who belong to the dark type of Caucasians. 

a rapidity never seen before. Also, being more advanced 
than the others, the white races have readily conquered 
the weaker people and taken their lands from them. They 
now dominate the world (see Fig. 60), the only division 
that has held out against them being the Mongolians, 
whose very numbers have in large measure served to 
protect them. 



198 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



Development of Civilization 

The facts of history indicate that the civilized races 
of the world have developed from a state of savagery 
or barbarism. It is further believed that certain races 
have not developed because of unfavorable surroundingSc 

These are called natural races 
because they still depend di- 
rectly upon nature for their 
food, clothing, and shelter, while 
the more civilized races have 
to a certain extent risen above 
such dependence. Therefore, 
by studying the natural races 
we may gain some hints con- 
cerning the development of civ- 
ilization. 

Need of Food. — The most 
essential need of man is food ; 
and human beings in general 
are so constituted that they will 
obtain their food in the easiest 
possible manner. If it grows 
upon trees near by, or can be 
obtained by simple hunting de- 
vices (Figs. 56 and 61), man is 
apt to do no more work than is 
necessary to secure food that is 
Fig. 61. near at hand. His life is simple, 

An Indian hunter in the Amazon hig needs are fcw, and his ad- 

f orsst 

vance is slight. It is in the 
tropics that these conditions exist, and it is there that we 
find the least civilization. 




THE HUMAN RACE 



199 



Where these conditions are found only a small number 
can live, because there is a limit to the food that is easily 
available ; therefore the tropical forest zone is for the 
most part sparsely inhabited. In fact, it is said that parts 
of the tropical forest average but one person for every 
twenty-four square miles ; and most of the inhabitants 
dwell near the rivers. Can 
you suggest reasons for living 
there ? When the numbers 
increase greatly, new means 
of obtaining food must be 
found ; and for this purpose 
war and even cannibalism are 
sometimes resorted to. 

Development of Agri- 
culture. — But by far the 
most common means of add- 
ing to the supply of food is 
through the care of plants 
and animals. The plant world 
offers valuable foods stored in 
seeds, bulbs, and roots. Under 
natural conditions these foods 
are scattered, and agriculture 
doubtless began by gathering them from the wild plants, 
as many native tribes still do. A step in advance would 
be made by planting such seeds near the home and keeping 
out the weeds (Fig. 62). 

Moreover, in some climates it is necessary to store a 
supply against a season of need. For example, the winter 
of the temperate zones and the dry season of the savannas 
must be provided for. This encourages industry, tliiift. 




Fig. 62. 
An African negro woman planting. 



200 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



the building of permanent homes, and inventions for sav- 
ing labor. Thus agriculture is one of the great civilizers. 

Agriculture probably began upon the open lands; and among 
natural races it is for the most part still confined there. Later 
small patches were cleared in the forest; but this was difficult, 
especially in tropical countries, where the fight against weeds 
is a hard one. It is so hard, in fact, that there is little devel- 
opment of agriculture in such woodlands. The temperate forest 
also offers difficulties, but fewer than that of the tropics, and 
consequently much of it has been cleared. The frigid zone and 
the true desert permit no agriculture ; but where irrigation is 
possible the latter may be made to yield a harvest. Mankind 
early learned to cultivate the soil by aid of irrigation, and 
some of the seats of early civilization, as in Egypt and Persia, 

were on river flood-plains, 
where agriculture was car- 
ried on in that way. 

Development of Graz- 
ing. — In spite of the 
fact that it has been 
difficult to domesticate 
animals, mankind has 
made many of them serve 
his needs. For example, 
the dog has been made 
j-jQ g3_ to aid in hunting ; the 

The buffalo iu Egypt, one of the many native OX, liorse, camel and 
animals that have been domesticated by hnfpQlo fFio- 63^ to 
natural races. v & " J 

serve as beasts of bur- 
den ; the sheep, cow, goat, and others to supply materials 
for clothing and food. Name some of the kinds of food 
and clothing obtained from these animals. 

While it was doubtless the needs of the farmer tliat 




TBE HUMAN liACE 201 

led to the domestication of many animals, it is the herders 
who have come to take care of them most extensively. 
The people who make grazing their occupation find it 
necessary to roam about with their herds in search of 
grass, and are therefore called nomads or wanderers. They 
naturally show preference for the open plains. Why? 

The life of the nomad tends to make him restless, self- 
reliant, and warlike, while that of the farmer is peaceful. Each 




Fig. 64. 

One of the boats iu use in Burma in southern Asia. 

class is capable of development to a certain extent, although 
in different ways ; but the best character comes from a union 
of the two natures. Fortunately this imion has often been 
effected, though at cost of many human lives. Agricultural 
people have been much exposed to tlie raids of nomads, who 
liad little to lose and much to gain by such war. In con- 
sequence most agricultural races have become mixed with 
nomadic people; for the latter have often conquered wliole 
sections of agricultural country. For example, the Chinese 
are an agricultural race who have been influenced in this 
manner ; aiid nomadic hordes from Asia made many incursions 
into Europe in early days. 



202 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 

Development of Fishing. — A third direction in which 
natural races have made progress is by contact with the 
sea. To obtain food f I'om the sea, boats were needed (Fig. 
64) ; and when men had come to use them with skill, they 
were able to explore regions beyond their horizon. The 
use of the boat produces men of energy, courage, and skill. 
Partly as a result of this, and partly because of the protec- 
tion which the sea furnishes against invasion, the highest 
advance of races has occurred along the seacoast, especially 
on islands and peninsulas. Why there ? It may be said, 
in fact, that civilization has in general spread from the 
coast to the interior. 

Development in the Temperate Zone. —It is along the 
coasts of the temperate zones that the greatest prog- 
ress has occurred, because, while there are difficulties to 
overcome, they are not great enough to discourage. The 
need of storing supplies for winter has led, by natural 
steps, to the accumulation of wealth, to trade, and to 
various other forms of industry. The farmer, herder, 
and fisherman supply food ; but they in turn need imple- 
ments, clothing, and other articles. At first, among nat- 
ural races, each man supplies these for himself ; but with 
further development it is found desirable to devote one's 
whole time to one's special occupation. Thus some obtain 
food, others make weapons, tools, etc. ; and by the ex- 
change which thus arises, commerce is developed, and 
with it a great advance is made. 

Shelter. — Even the most primitive races have need 
of shelter from the heat, cold, or rain. To this day some 
live in hollow trees, like the beasts ; but most have 
developed a higher type of shelter. A more advanced 
stasre is reached when the limbs of low trees and bushes 



THE HUMAN RACE 



203 




are bent over and woven together for protection ; or 
when bushes are stuck into the ground and their limbs 
fastened together. Beginning with these simple devices, 
there is e very- 
gradation to the 
elaborate grass 
huts of the ne- 
groes (Fig. Qb) 
and the wooden 
houses of the 
whites. 

Early races 
often lived in 
caves, especially 
where the cli- 
mate was so cold 
that winter pro- 
tection was necessary. This was true of early Europeans 
and of some American Indians ; it is still practised in 
parts of the earth. It is a step in advance to build partial 
houses beneath overhanging cliffs, where the roof and one 
wall are supplied by the solid rock, as among the cliff 
dwellers of western United States. Then comes the house 
composed entirely of stone, or of dried clay, either the 
sun-dried adobe or the baked brick. The highest devel- 
opment of architecture is reached in the massive public 
buildings of the present day. 

Nomadic races, travelling about as they do, require portable 
dwellings (Fig. 46) ; and their most common shelter is com- 
posed of skins, which are not only light but easily obtained 
from their herds. In case of longer residence in one place 
they may build more permanent homes, either of wood, clay, 



Fio. 65. 
Huts in a negro village in Africa. 



204 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



or stone. Also, with ab\mdance of wool and other kinds of 
animal hair, these people have learned to weave blankets and 
rugs, which are an additional shelter when travelling. 

From these facts it is seen that natural and semi-civilized 
races obtain shelter by the use of materials near at hand and 
adapted to their mode of life. This is especially well illus- 
trated by the Eskimos, whose summer homes, when they are 
moving about, are made of seal and walrus skins ; while their 
winter shelter is built of blocks of ice or snow, the most 
available building materials. 

Sites for Houses. — The sites for these dwellings often 
seem to be selected with reference only to the nearness 
of building materials 
or of food. But very 
commonly they are 
determined by the ne- 
cessity for protection 
from man or beast. 
The cliff dwellers of 
the West, for example, 
selected their sites with 
the idea of defence 
against wandering 
tribes of savage Ind- 
ians ; and the Pueblo 
Indians built their 
pueblos upon hills for 
the same reason. Civ- 
ilized people, likewise, 
have often located their 
castles upon lofty cliffs. 

Find illustrations in the sections on Europe. Among 
natural races, houses are sometimes built in the treetops 









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Fig. 66. 

Houses in the trees in New Guinea. 



THE HUMAN RACE 



205 



(Fig. 66) for ])roteeliou against enemies ; and sometimes 
they are even built on posts or piles in tlie water (Fig. 67}. 
Towns and Cities. — The same reason that induces nat- 
ural races to build their houses in positions which afford 
protection from enemies, has caused people to collect in 
villages (Fig. 65), towns, and cities. These are often 




Fig. 67. 
A village on piles iu New Guinea. 



surrounded by water (Fig. 67) or by stockades ; and in 
the Middle Ages the cities of Europe were very effectively 
protected by walls of stone. Many European and Asiatic 
cities are still enclosed in walls, and in Asia they are even 
now kept in repair ; Ijut the modern cannon render such 
defences of little value. 

While the sites of some cities liave been selected fdr no 
other reason than their ease of defence, the growth of civiliza- 



206 



GENEBAL GEOGRAPHY 



tion has given other reasons for people to collect in cities. 
For example, some have simply wanted to live together, or 
to be near valuable mineral deposits, or near water power, etc. 
Give other reasons. 

Clothing. — In regard to clothing, as to shelter, there are 
many varied customs. Here again the natural races show 
most dependence 
upon their surround- 
ings. Some of those 
in the tropical zone 
find very little cloth- 
ing necessary (Figs. 
56, 61, and 87). 
Others clothe them- 
selves in bark, as 
some of the Germanic 
people of Europe did 
in early times. In 
the cold climates 
skins are used, as 
among many of our 
European ancestors, 
and at the present 
time among the Eski- 
mos, Lapps, Fuegians, 
and some of the North 
American Indians. What other reason than cold would lead 
these people to use fur-bearing skins ? 

From the use of such simple natural products it is but a 
step to crude hand manufacture ; then follows manufacture by 
machinery, run first by hand or foot (Fig. 58), then by water 
power, and finally by steam and electric power. Doubtless at 
first such native products as the wool of animals, the fibre of 
wood, wild cotton, and flax were used; then plants and animals 
were raised for their fibre and hair. Even the insects are called 
upon to aid man in his attempt to clothe himself j for silk is 
used in many lands. 




Fig. 68. 
Japanese rain coats. 



THE HUMAN RACE 



207 




The Development of Language. — Tliere are Imndrods 
of different languages eniong the races of the earth, and 
no one knows their jrigin and history. In the very ear- 
liest times about Avhioh we K:now there were vast differences 
of speech ; and even since history began to be recorded, the 
speech of na- 



tions has greatly 
changed. For 
example, tlie 
Greek and Ital- 
ian languages 
of to-day are 
very different 
from the Greek 
and Latin of two 
thousand years 
ago. 

This being the 
case, it is easy to 
see how, if time 
enough is granted, races separated by the sea, mountains, 
or desert will slowly give up old words and evolve new ones. 
This is thought to be the origin of the many different lan- 
guages of the globe. How are these differences in language 
important in checking commerce and preventing sympathy 
of one nation. for another? 

Many natural races have no written language ; otliers have 
a kind of picture writing (Fig. 69) ; that is, they represent 
their ideas by drawing pictures. It is from such a beginning, it 
is believed, that our writing and, later, our printing have de- 
veloped. Writing and printing have been among the most 
powerful aids to civilization. Can you suggest reasons for this ? 



'Tiii I- maaniiitfini-iwiiiiii — — 



Fig. 69. 

Message sticks from West Australia — the carvings 
convey messages. 



208 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



Inventions. — Even the lowest races are gifted with 
some ingenuity and power of invention. The savage hunt- 
ers of the forest make the bow, arrow, and spear (Figs. 56 
and 61). Most if not all races know the use of fire and 

how to make it. 
Also pottery- 
making is com- 
mon to all parts 
of the earth. 

Farming has 
been responsible 
for many inven- 
tions — the im- 
p 1 e m e n t s for 
loosening the 
ground (Fig. 
62), for jDlant- 
ing, for reaping, 
for employing 
beasts of burden, 
including the 
harness itself, 
being good ex- 
amples. Fishing 
has also given rise to many ingenious devices, especially in 
the demand for boats. Some boats are of bark, as, among 
the Indians ; or of skin, as among the Eskimos, where bark 
is absent ; or of hollowed logs, as in many parts of the 
world. In time the small, open boats (Fig. 70) were re- 
placed by larger, covered vessels (Fig. 71); and finally 
huge ships have been made of steel. As to motive 
power, oars and paddles (Fig. 67) were first used, then 




Fig. 70. 
A boat with an outrigger to prevent capsizing 
waiian Islands. 



■Ha- 



THE HUMAN RACE 



2(1! I 



the wind was called into service (Fig. 71), and liiially 
steam. Shi^JS are one of man's most iiiipoi-tant inven- 
tions. Why ? Of what 
service have printing, 
gunpowder, steam, elec- 
tricity, and labor-saving 
machinery been in ad- 
vancing civilization ? 

Civilized man, instead of 
depending upon Avild plants 
and animals for food and 
clothing, has learned to 
cultivate the choicest of 
plants. He has tamed and 
domesticated many species 
of animals, too, and used 
them not merely as a source 
of food but also as an aid in 
his work. More than this, 
he has learned to control 
some of the forces of nature and has caused them to do his 
work in an improved fashion. The result of it all is that thou- 
sands of people are able to live where only one could exist in the 
natural state. For example, while in some parts of the tropics 
there is an average of but one savage for every twenty-four 
square miles, there are whole countries tliat average several 
thousand civilized men on the same area. 




Fig. 71. 

A Chinese junk, a form of sailing boat long 
ill use by tlie Cliinese. 



Development of the State. — AVhile in some tribes there 

is scarcely any real government, the need of a leader so 

frequently arises, as in the management of a boat or in 

Miir, that in most cases tliere is some organization. 

Furtli(;r ihan that, Avar is so common among savage and 

barbarous races that it is of interest for different tribes to 
p 



210 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 

combine under a good leader. This forms a beginning 
of tribal government and of the State. 

Sometimes, as among the Indians, the chief is merely a 
representative of the people, leading them, but not liaving 
absolute povv^er. In other cases he is a despot to whom 
all subjects must yield obedience. Their property, move- 
ments, and very lives are at his mercy, his authority often 
being made especially secure by means of religious beliefs 
and rites, as among many African tribes. 

In early times Europe was occupied by scattered, war- 
ring tribes governed in this loose manner. But with the 
development of Roman civilization on the Mediterranean, 
much of western Europe came under the Roman influence, 
and laws and customs were established which have aided 
greatly in the later civilization of European nations. With 
the decline of the Roman Empire, however, these tribes 
sank back in part to their old conditions. Kings ruled 
portions of the country and fought battles with neighbors, 
aided by leaders or lords., who themselves often became so 
powerful as to be dangerous rivals to tlie kings. These 
lords lived in well-protected castles, surrounded by farms 
which were worked by the common people, or peasmits, who 
were little better than slaves. They were called vassals, 
and were required to serve their lords and to fight for 
them. 

Under such conditions little advance was possible ; 
for while a few persons possessed much power, the masses 
were kept in poverty and ignorance. Little by little, how- 
ever, the people have made progress toward freedom ; and 
to-day they are in the main emancipated, although in their 
kings and lords most countries of Europe still preserve 
relics of the old system. 



THE HUMAN liACE 211 

Among the causes which liave aicU'd in tlie elevation of 
the people, perhaps none were of more importance than the 
discovery and exploration of new lands. Explain how that 
is true. The masses reached the point where they de- 
manded the right to make their own laws ; and in some 
countries, as in France, they even replaced the monarchy 
by a republic. In England a full measure of liberty was 
obtained without abolishing the monarchy, but only after 
many severe struggles. In America, separated from the 
Old World customs, and peopled by those who fled from 
oppression, the love of freedom was prominent from the 
very first ; and neither hereditar}^ king nor lord checks the 
masses from the full enjoyment of their liberty. 

Development of Religion. — True religion is the climax 
of man's development ; yet every race has some form 
of religion. Among savages it is little more than super- 
stition. They are surrounded by nature, which they 
do not understand. Life and death mystify them ; the 
tree develops from a seed, and the savages know not why : 
on every hand is mystery. They seek a cause, and, seeing 
none, are led to believe in spirits which they try to com- 
prehend. Some they suppose to be evil, others good. 
Believing that these spirits have great influence over 
their lives, they try to win favor with them by offering 
sacrifices and worshipping them. 

Such religion, if it may be so called, takes many forms. 
Some races, as the negroes, believe in witchcraft; and among 
them the witch doctor is sometimes more powerful than the 
ruler himself. If disease comes, it is ascribed to an evil spirit, 
and it is believed that the witch doctor can effect a cure. To 
ward off such evil iiifluences charms are worn, gross rites are 
observed, and images or objects, called fetishes (Fig. 72), are 



212 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



worshipped because they are believed to possess magic power. 

A.inong these objects are included fire, the sun, the earthquake, 
and many animals. So far as God is concerned, 
if these people have any conception of Him, 
it is of the crudest kind. The negroes, the 
Indians, the Eskimos, and even our own 
ancestors two thousand years ago had little 
more than this form of religion. 



w 



Most races believe in a future life, 
though often vaguely, and as their only 
way of explaining the mystery of death. 
The Indians, for example, think that 
upon death the human spirit goes to a 
happier place, where conditions are some- 
what similar to those on • earth. They 
therefore bury hunting implements with 
the dead. All people with such views as 
the preceding are called heathens (Fig. 
74), and are often said to have no reli- 
gion. From our point of view they have 
no true religion ; but they have something 
akin to it. 

Among the semi-civilized and civilized 
races there are forms of belief in which the conception of 
God is higher, and the idea of future reward and punish- 
ment is taught. Of these religions five call for special 
mention. 

Buddhism^ followed especially in eastern Asia (Fig. 74), 
was established in India five or six hundred years before 
the time of Christ as a result of the work and teachings 
of Buddha (Fig. 73). But there are many differences in 
the religious beliefs and customs of the Asiatic people, 




Fig. 72. 

A fetish from 
Africa. 



THE HUMAN RACE 



213 



and in consequence there are many sects. Brahninism is 
one of the most common forms of belief, being especially 
followed in India. It would be difficult correctly to de- 
scribe the religions of the Asiatic people in a few words ; 
but idolatry, or 
the worship of 
idols, is preva- 
lent among them. 
Ancestor wor- 
sliip is common 
in China ; and 
the doctrine of 
caste in India, 
— that is, the 
doctrine of class 
distinction. Both 
of these doc- 
trines, which are 
a part of their 
religion, are op- 
posed to prog- 
ress, as we shall 
see. 

The 'Jewish re- 
ligion, still fol- 
lowed by many, 
upholds tlie worship of one righteous God, as taught in the 
Old Testament. From this, two other religions have de- 
veloped, Mohammedanism and Christianity. The prophet 
Mohammed lived about six centuries after Christ, and the 
Koran contains liis teachings. Mohammedans deny the 
divinity of Christ. This religion has been spread by the 




Fig. 73. 
A statue, or idol, of Buddha in India. 



21-1 



GENERAL GEOGRAPHY 



sword with wonderful rapidity, especially among the 
semi-civilized people of Asia and Africa (Fig. 74). 
Many of its followers became fanatics who, believing that 
they thus obtained future happiness, willingly died if they 
could die killing a Christian. 

The Christian religion, the common belief in America 
and most of Europe, has spread slowly, but it now num- 




Diagram to slio-w the distribution of religions. So small a map is of course 
only true in general — for example, it must omit many of the small sections 
where Christian missionaries have made converts. 



bers about 440,000,000 followers. Its success, however, 
must not be measured by numbers alone ; for Christians 
make up most of the really civilized people of the world 
(Fig. T4). It is no accident that this is so, for Christi- 
anity has been one of the chief factors in making civili- 
zation possible. 

Religious belief has had much to do with inventions 
and the growth of industry. The Chinese, for example, 



THE nUMAN RACE 21') 

have long opposed new inventions because their ancestor 
worship cultivated undue reverence for past customs ; 
also they have been unwilling to dig into the ground, for 
fear of disturbing the evil spirits that are supposed to 
dwell there. Partly for such reasons, our study of geog- 
raphy is chiefly concerned with Christian countries; for 
there we find the most varied and extensive uses of the 
earth in tlie service of man. 



Questions. — (1) Tell about the Ethiopians; their characteristics 
and distribution. (2) Do the same for the American Indians. 
(3) Mongolians. (4) Caucasians. (5) Give reasons for the greater 
advance of the Caucasians, ((i) What is believed about the early 
development of civilization? (7) How is food obtained by natural 
races? (8) Tell about the development of agriculture. (9) Of graz- 
ing. (10) What is the eli'ect of the mixture of farming and nomadic 
races? (11) W^hat influence has the development of fishing had upon 
civilization ? (12) In what kind of regions has the greatest advance 
of mankind taken place? Why? (13) How do natural races secure 
shelter? Give examples. (14) AVhat influences aid in the selection 
of sites for homes? For towns and cities? (15) What materials 
are employed in clothing? (16) "What is known about the origin 
of speech and written language? (17) Give examples of early 
inventions. (18) Yv'hat inventions have been especially important? 
(19) Tell about the simplest forms of government. (20) The more 
advanced forms. Give examples. (21) Tell about the development 
of religion. (22) Give some facts about Buddhism and Brahminism; 
Jewish religion ; jNlohammedanism; Christianity. 

Suggestions. — (1) "WHiat members of the divisions of mankind 
— other tlian whites — have you seen in your own neighborhood? 
(2) What different nationalities of whites? (3) Find pictures illus- 
trating human life in the various zones. (4) Help to make a collection 
of pictures for the school to illustrate the various forms of shelter 
and clothing. Also find such pictures in this book. (5) Find some 
one who has specimens of primitive implements, as Indian arrow- 
heads, and examine them. (0) Find out something about the ways 
in which savage races ornameut their clothing and person. 



EUROPE 



PHYSIOGRAPHY, CLIMATE, AND PEOPLE 

Physiography 

Highlands and Lowlands. — As in the case of North 
America, the development of the continent of Europe has 
required millions of years. Far back in time mountains 
appeared above the sea in the north-western portion of the 




Fig. 110. 

A view over the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus Mountains, 
fills the valley. 



A sea of fo? 



continent. Although greatly worn by the weathering of 
the ages, and much reduced in elevation, these mountains 
may still be seen in Finland, Scandinavia (the peninsula 
occupied by Norway and Sweden), and Scotland (Figs. 127 
and 129), as well as in Germany and Belgium. They re- 

216 



PHYSIOGRAPHY 



2V 



semble the mountains of New England and eastern Canada, 
that have likewise been greatly worn by weathering. 

Other mountain ranges were later formed in southern 
Europe ; but, like those of western America, they are 
young and their recent growth has been vigorous. There- 




FlG. 111. 

Lake Geneva in a valley among the Alps. The Rhone River flows out of this 

lake. 



fore the Pyrenees (Fig. 155), J.?ps, and Caucasus (Fig. 
110) are still of great height. Find each on Figure 109. 
The mountains of North and South America form contin- 
uous chains, witli the highest mountains in the west, 
extending north and south. But in Europe the loftiest 
mountains are in the soutli, extending in various direc- 
tions, though mainly east and west. How does this con- 



218 



EUROPE 



dition promise a different effect on the climate ? It is to 
the fact that the mountains are not continuous, and that 
they consist of chains extending in various directions, that 
Europe owes much of its extremely irregular outline. 

Besides the mountains mentioned, there is a long, low chain, 
known as the Urals, which extends north and south on the 
eastern side, and for a part of the distance forms the boundary 
between Europe and Asia. Other scattered highlands are 
shown on Figure 109. Where mainly are they situated ? 

Next to the Caucasus (Fig. 110) the loftiest of all these 
mountains are the Alps (Figs. Ill, 201, 204, and 205), whose 
rains and snows find their way to the sea through several of the 
large rivers of Europe. What are some of their names (Fig. 
172). Headwaters of four of these rivers are within forty miles 
of each other in the Alps. What large rivers of Europe do not 
rise in the Alps (Fig. 109) ? 

Between the low mountains of the north and east and 
the higher ranges of the south there is a very extensive 

lowland (Fig. 

109). A part of 
this has been 
submerged by 
the sinking of 
the land, thus 
forming the shal- 
low Baltic Sea. 
Beginning in the 
west with south- 
ern England, and 
passing through Belgium and Holland, or the " Low 
Countries," this plain broadens as it extends eastward 
across Germany (Fig. 112) until it includes almost all 




Fig. 112. 

Looking across the level plain of North Germany. 
Peat is dug on this plain near the river. 



PnYSIOGRAPHY 219 

of Russia (Fig. 109). Estimate its length east and west. 
About two-thirds of Europe is included in this })lain. 

Some of the streams in the mountains, as in Scandinavia 
and Switzerland, have abundant water power; but most of 
the rivers flow with gentle slope over broad plains. As a 
result, most of the rivers are navigable for long distances ; 
for example, the Seine for 350 miles and the llhine for 550 
miles. The level plains also encourage the building of canals ; 
and thus, b}^ river, canal, and lake, the Black and Caspian seas 
are connected with the Baltic and Xorth seas ; and the North 
and Caspian seas are connected with the INIediterrauean. 

Coal Beds. — Wliile these mountains and plains were 
forming, coal beds were also accumulating, as was the 
case iu America during the Coal Period. 

Vast swamp}^ tracts were covered with a luxuriant vegeta- 
tion; then this land was lowered beneath the sea, and the plant 
remains became covered over and pressed closely together by 
the weight of thick layers of sand, gravel, and mud. After a 
while the sea bottom emerged once more, and rank vegetation 
returned, but this time with its roots in the ocean mud that 
had buried the earlier swamps. In the course of hundreds of 
years the land again sank and the plants were covered much 
as before. Thus one layer of dense vegetation after another 
was biu-ied deep in the earth ; and there it has slowly changed 
to the coal that is of so much use in warming houses, cooking 
food, and running machinery. 

Figure 113 shows the parts of Europe in which coal beds occur. 
In what countries are they ? Most of the coal is bituminous 
or soft coal, though tliere is some anthracite. In a number 
of sections lignite or brown coal is mined. This is a poor vari- 
ety formed in much the same way as the bitiuninous, but at 
a later time than the Coal Period. Peat (Fig. 112) is also 
dug for fuel in western Europe, where the damp climate favors 
its formation. 



220 



EUROPE 



The Great Ice Sheet. — At the same period that eastern 
North America was invaded by a great ice sheet from the 
north, snow accumulated on the highlands of northwestern 



'V^'hiw^ 



A Jt C T I C 



COALFIELDS (< J> 

OF 

EUROPE. * 






«^ g^BRITISH' ISLES 
V I / Jjj 1^ 





3^ pNTT;;EK>pA>^ 



X-iWJSu'r. ..AUSTRIA-HUNGARI' ;■' 



Fig. 113. 
Coal map of Europe. 

Europe and spread outward in all directions. Figure 114 
shows the extent of the European ice sheet. 

One glacier, with its centre in the Scandinavian peninsula, 
spread southward over the Russian plains, and into Germany 
and Holland. Smaller ice sheets were developed in the 
highlands of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales ; and these, united, 
covered all the British Isles, excepting the extreme southern 
part (Fig. 114). The British glaciers also flowed out into the 
North Sea and joined forces with the Scandinavian glacier. 



PIIYSIOGRAPHY 



221 



During this same period the glaciers of the Alps and otlier 
mountains were much more extensive than now, extending far 
down the moimtain valleys. These facts are known by the 
deposits of drift that the ice left, by the boulders an\l pebbles 




that the glacier moved, and by the scratches that were made on 
the rock as the ice dragged these fragments along. 

In Europe, as in North America, the ice cap was over a 
mile thick ; and when it slowly moved over the surface 
it swept away the soil that had accumulated, and ground 
the rock fragments to bits. These bits of rock it depos- 
ited elsewhere as drifts so that, while the bed rock was 
left bare in some places, in others it was covered with 
a deep glacial soil containing boulders and pebbles. In 



990 



EUROPE 




many places the drift blocked the stream valleys and thus 
caused innumerable falls and small lakes. In Figure 109 
note the distribution of lakes in Europe (see also Figs. 

122 and 200). 
The greater 
number of these 
lakes are too 
small to be shown 
on our maps. Of 
what service are 
lakes and falls to 
man ? 

The Coast Line. 
— The irregular- 
ities of the coast 
line of northern 
Europe, like 
those of north- 
eastern North America, are due to the sinking of the land. 
The Baltic Sea and its gulfs represent old land valleys ; 
and the hills of this submerged land form either islands, 
peninsulas, or shallow banks where food fish abound. 

It seems to be well proved that, before the Glacial Period, 
the British Isles were connected with the mainland by low 
plains where the North Sea and English Channel now exist. 
An elevation of only a few hundred feet would restore this 
condition by changing the bed of the North Sea to dry 
land. This would then extend the continent westward beyond 
the British Isles, thus destroying the bays and harbors, and 
altering the entire outline of northwestern Europe. 

In southern Europe the rising and sinking of small 
areas of land — while the mountains were forming — has 



Fig. 115. 

A fjord on the coast of Norway — a mountain valley 
into which the sea has heen admitted by sinking of 
the land. (See also Fig. 173.) 



CLIMATE 223 

made many peninsulas, witli bays, gulfs, islands, and seas 
between. The Mediterranean itself occupies a basin, thou- 
sands of feet in depth, formed by tlie sinking of this part 
of the earth's crust. Some of these islands, however, are 
partly or wholly built up by volcanic action. What vol- 
cano is on the island of Sifily (Fig. 200) ? 

As a result of all these land movements, Europe lias the 
most irregular coast of all the continents. Name its large 
peninsulas. How many of them are mountainous ? Name the 
larger gulfs and seas that border the continent. How about 
the number of line harbors ? Show by examples how this great 
irregularity of the coast is of advantage in allowing vessels to 
proceed far into the interior of the continent. 

Climate 

Influence of Latitude. — Trace the 50th parallel of lati- 
tude on a globe or map of the world. Notice that while 
the 49th parallel forms the northern boundary of western 
United States, it passes entirely south of England, crosses 
France near Paris, and extends through southern Germany 
and Russia. From this it is evident that by far the larger 
part of Europe lies farther north than the United States, 
and due east of Canada. St. Petersburg is in the same 
latitude as northern Labrador ; and the tips of the penin- 
sulas of southern Europe reach about as far south as the 
southern boundary of Virginia. 

In the far north, near the Arctic, the climate is bleak, 
and there are barren, frozen tundras. South of this is a 
belt of fir, spruce, and pine, like that which stretches east 
and west across central Canada. But contrary to what 
might be expected from latitude alone, the climate in and 
just south of this belt of evergreen forest permits the 



224 



EUROPE 




oa 



CLIMATE 



225 




226 EUROPE 

growth of the grains and fruits that flourish in south- 
ern Canada and northern United States. In southern 
Europe, in the latitude of central United States, such 
semi-tropical fruits as oranges, lemons, olives, and figs are 
cultivated. That is to say, the products of the greater 
part of Europe are such as grow several hundred miles 
farther south in eastern North America. 

That these products are raised in great abundance in 
Europe is indicated by the number of people there ; for, 
although the continent is much less than half the size of 
North America, it supports four times as many inhabit- 
ants, or nearly 400,000,000. Let us see the explanation 
of these remarkable facts. 

Resemblance to Western North America. — In several 
respects the climate of Europe is so similar to that of 
western North America that a brief review will be useful. 
It will be recalled that our western coast, north of San 
Francisco, is under the control of the prevailing westerlies 
(Fig. 25). These winds from the Pacific so temper the cold 
of winter and the heat of summer as to produce a very mild 
climate for some distance inland ; but toward the east, 
or interior, the influence of the ocean decreases and the 
extremes of temperature become greater. South of San 
Francisco the influence of the horse latitudes and the 
trade-wind belts is felt, and whatever wind there is, usually 
blows either along the coast or from the land. 

The vapor-laden westerlies, rising over the highlands 
north of San Francisco, cause an abundance of rain, so that 
western Washington and Oregon have the heaviest rain- 
fall in the United States. In crossing the mountains, 
however, the winds are so deprived of moisture that the 
plateaus and plains beyond are arid (Fig. 30). Southern 



CLIMA TE 227 

California has rain in winter, especially in the monntains ; 
but in summer, when the trade-wind belt has moved north- 
ward (Figs. 31 and 32), the winds blow either along the 
coast or from the land. Therefore the climate is so dry 
that agriculture can be carried on only by irrigation. 

Now turn to northern Europe. The prevailing wester- 
lies are felt there as in the United States. Blowing from 
the ocean, and, what is especially important, from across 
the warm ocean current (p. 50), they distribute an enor- 
mous amount of heat over the land. It is tlie westerlies 
from these warm waters, more than any other factor, that 
allow crops to be raised nearer the pole in Europe than 
in any other part of the globe. If these conditions were 
not present, much of that densely populated continent 
(Fig. 120) would be a barren waste, like Labrador. 

The effect of the ocean winds is naturally greatest 
near the coast, as in western North America. Therefore 
England has a mild, rainy climate ; but the farther east- 
ward one goes, the less is the influence of the ocean. 
Thus eastern Russia experiences great extremes of heat 
and cold, and there is danger of serious droughts. Com- 
pare the summer and winter temperature (Figs. IIG and 
117) and the rainfall (Fig. 118) of these two sections. 

Southern Europe, like southern California, is not affected 
by the westerlies in summer, for it lies then within the 
belt of the hort,e latitudes. This accounts for the fact 
that southern Spain, Italy, and Greece receive very little 
rain in summer. Examine Figure 118 to see where in 
Europe the rainfall is light. Find some places where 
there is abundant rain on mountain slopes. 

Influence of Cyclonic Storms. — Thus far we have seen 
a striking resemblance in the climates of the two conti- 



228 EUROPE 

nents. But there are also notable differences. The 
westerlies are less regular in Europe than in western 
North America because of frequent interruption by the 
cyclonic storms, which, after passing over eastern North 
America, often cross the ocean and continue across Europe 
(p. 35). Why cannot their arrival be predicted as well 
as in the United States ? 

As in eastern United States and Canada, the cyclonic storms 
cause variable winds (Fig. 35). For example, when a storm 
centre is west of the British Isles the westerlies are checked 
and the winds blow toward the centre, or from the east. But 
while storm winds from the east bring rain to eastern North 
America, the same kind of winds cannot bring rain to eastern 
Europe, because there is no great ocean near at hand to supply 
the vapor. On account of the absence of ocean water, therefore, 
eastern Europe has little rain, as eastern America would have 
if there were land instead of water to the east of it. 

Effect of Mountain Ranges. — The direction in which 
the highlands extend is a second cause of great difference 
between the climates of Europe and America. In Amer- 
ica, where high mountains extend north and south along 
the entire western margin of the continent, the warm, 
damp westerlies are soon deprived of their moisture. This 
leaves a vast arid and semi-arid area in the interior. 

In Europe, on the other hand, where the higher ranges 
extend nearly east and west, the mountains do not so 
seriously interfere with the movement of vapor to the 
interior. Consequently the west winds surrender their 
moisture only very gradually. This accounts for the fact 
that in the belt of westerlies, from western Ireland to 
eastern Russia, there is rainfall enough for agriculture. 

The east-west direction of the lofty mountains has a marked 
influence on the climate of those portions of Europe that lie 



CLIMATE 



220 



on their north and south sides. Kising like great walls, the 
mountains prevent south Avinds from bearing northward the 
heat of the Mediterranean basin; and they also interfere with 
the passage of the chilling winds from the north. We know 
that Florida, much farther south than southern Europe, is 




EUROPE 



Fig. 118. 



visited by cold waves and accompanying frosts ; but mountain 
barriors ])revont such winds in portions of southern Euro])e. 

Inland Seas. — The numerous inland seas are another great 
factor in influencing the climate of parts of Europe. Draw 
a sketch map of Europe, locating these seas. How does the 
Mediterranean compare in length with Lake Superior ? It 
will be remembered that our Great Lakes produce a marked 
influence on the climate of the neighboring land, moderating 



230 EUROPE 

the heat of summer and the cold of winter. It is this influ- 
ence, added to that of the mountain barrier, that gives to south- 
ern Italy, Greece, France, and Spain such an equable and almost 
tropical climate. How must these seas influence the rainfall ? 



THE UNITED STATES COMPARED WITH 
OTHER COUNTRIES 

Area and Population. — In spite of the vast extent of 
the United States, there are three empires in the Old 

BtltUlx Empire 



\flusstaTtEmptTe c/xtrve^e VnUed- 
Errvplre stat^ 



Brazil 




Fig. 401. 
Area of the five largest nationSc 

World with a greater area. Which are they? (Fig. 401). 
Which country is fifth in size ? Compare the United 
States with each of these in area. 

The United States also ranks fourth in population (Fig. 
402). Name the five most populous countries in the 

Chinese EmplreBrlusth Empire 

Emfjtre r,,^ ^^ „ 




56,000,000 



Fuj. 402. 
The five most populous nations, 1900. 

order of their rank. What facts do you discover by 
comparing Figures 401 and 402 ? Figure 403 shows the 

2:31 



232 



COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 



density of population, or the number of people per square 
mile, in some of the countries in the world. From this it 

will be seen that 
the United States 
is very thinly 
settled compared 
with many coun- 
tries. Compare 
the United States 
in this regard 
with Belgium, 
England, Cuba, 
Mexico, and Can- 
ada. 

Leading Raw 
Products. — 
Nevertheless, the 
United States 
leads the world 
in many very important respects and approaches leadership 
in several others. Figure 404 shows that no nation is a 



'"' ;■. ■ ■ 


I 1 i • 'i 








Belgium Sij3 


England oOO 


Japan SSJ 


Italy 280 


China no 




























Germany 250 


France ise 


India ini 


Spain so 


Phil.Is'ds 72 










.... 


Russia m 


Cuba sa 


U. States su 


Mexico 16 


Hatvaii to 


• 


• • 


• • • 


' ' 


• 


CColony s 


Brazil i.s 


Argentina s 


Canada 2 


Australiat.ii 



Fig. 403. 
Density of population of some of ttie countries. 




Fig. 404. 
Sketch map to show the approximate distribatlon of corn. 



COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 



233 



close rival to us in the production of corn. What coun- 
tries, however, raise large quantities of it ? Why is no 




Fig. 405. 
Approximate distribution of wlieat. 



corn raised in the British Isles? (p. 181). Wheat is more 
widely cultivated than corn (Fig. 405). Yet we are far 



Urate d States 



67J;/M9.000 
Buslvels 



^■:i^^:^ 



Ftusslan 

^'^P^^^ . rmrtce Brttisfv Austria 



'i9a,836.000 



J7(88W00 



ZUO^MOO 



1/0,936,000 



Fig. 406. 
The five leadiug wheat-pnjdiicing countries, 1898. 

in the lead in that grain (Fig. 40G). Point out (Fig. 405) 
the leading wheat fields of the world. Which sections are 
important for both wheat and corn ? On wliich side of 
the Atlantic is wheat raised farthest north? Why? 

Cotton is limited to warm climates (Fig. 407), so that 
comparatively few countries niise it. Name the five that 
lead in its production (Fig. 408). To wliat extent does the 



234 



COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 




.Bales ^JOOlbs. 



Fig. 407. 
Approximate distribution of cotton. 

output of the United States surpass that of the four other 

countries to- 
Urttted. States _^ jndia Z,Z7J.Z00 o-ether ? In what 

CMnal3Za000 ^ . r ,i tt -i. i 

, ^ parts 01 the United 

CtMM^ym^o^a. States is most cot- 
ton munvfacturmg 
carried on ? What 
other countries 
have important 
cotton-manufac- 
turing industries? 




Korea WOflOO 

Fig. 408. 
The five leading cotton-producing countries, 1898. 




Fig. 409. 
Approximate distribution of sheep. 



COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 



235 



Note the distribution of sheep and cattle (Fig. 409). 
What is our rank in the production of wool? (Fig. 410). 



Australasia 



Russia 



United Sts. United 
Kingdom 




Fig. 410. 
The five leading wool-producing countries, 1899. 

Yet WO consume much more than we raise. Recall some 
facts concerning sheep raising in Australia, Argentina, 
and the United States. What nations have important 
woollen manufacturing ? 

The extreme importance of coal and iron for manufac- 
turing purposes has often been emphasized. But Figure 




Fk;. 411. 
Approximate distribution of coal. 



411 represents the coal fields as very limited. What coun- 
tries have little or none ? Name the leading coal-produc- 
ing sections, and state the rank of the United States in 
this mineral (Fig. 412). 



236 



COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 



C/nitect States creat Brttairv 



2S2JiJ,337 
Tons 




2WH9J.Z00 



Germany 



■Austria 



tlurwaryfYance 



m^5.f9Q 



AU3t.Nunff. 39,313.S/G 
rrarvce SJJ^Bfi^'i 



Fig. 412. 
The five leading coal-producing countries, 1899. 

Is iron ore more or less widely distributed than coal? 
(Fig. 413). How does the United States rank in the 







Fig. 413. 
Approximate distribution of iron mines. 

output of this mineral (Fig. 413) ; also in the production 
of pig iron (Fig. 414), which demands coal as well as 

Urvtt ed^StcUes 

UTtl. Ktrv^dom Cerrrhttrvy 




Fig. 414. 
The five leading countries in the production of pig iron, 18d8. 



COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 



237 



iron ore? How (k)OS the output of coal and iron cor- 
respond to the importance of countries as manufacturing 
nations? (Fig. 421). 

Where are the principal szYv^r-mining sections ? 
(Fig. 415). And how do we compare witli other countries 




Fig. 415. 
Approximate distribution of silver mining. 

in this product? (Fig. 416). Notice to what extent the 
world is indebted to tlie New World for silver. Tell 



Mexico 


United States 




§7 1.902. ,500 


§70,806,600 


Bolivia $14,020,500 


$16M3y000 




Chile 










Chile 


$8,070,500 



1-XLi. 41(i. 
The five leading silver-producing countries, 18iH). 

about the distribution of gold (Fig. 417) and give our 
rank in the production of that metal (Fig. 418). IIow 
does the value of the total gold production compare with 
that of silver in the five leading regions for each ? 



238 



COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 



Figure 419 suggests that the United States leads the 
workl in the production of petroleum, or mineral oil, which 




Fig. 417. 
Approximate distribution of gold miuiiig. 

is true. The second most important district for petroleum 
is in Russia near the Caspian Sea. Other districts pro- 



So.A/rLcan Rep. 


Australia 


UniteU States 




$ r£.961,J0f 


rt.306,l30 


70,096.02t 


Russia Canada. 


23.963.017 


21.049.730 







Fig. 418. 
The five leading gold-producing countries, 1899. 

duce little petroleum. On the same map with petroleum 
is shown the distribution of rubber. To what countries 
and climates is rubber confined ? (Fig. 419). 

Manufacturing and Commerce. — According to Figure 420 
on what two continents is there the greatest development 
of manufacturing? What other smaller sections are active 



COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 



239 



in this industry ? Considering the ahundance of our raw 
materials and the energy and intelligence of our people, 




Fig. 419. 
Approximate distribution of petroleum ; also of rubber. 




Fig. 420. 
Approximate distribution of manufacturing. 



United States 



1.200 mlUlonDoLlan. 



Gt. Britain 



Germany i-.^^„„^ „ 
^France Russia 



1.000 




Fk;. 421. 
The five leading manufacturing countries, 1888. 



240 



COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 



it is not surprising that we surpass all other countries in 
such work (Fig. 421). State the rank of other leading 
nations in this occupation. 

In provision for transportation hy rail the United States 
also takes the leading place. It has by far the greatest 
number of miles of railway of any nation (Fig. 422), 



United states 




Russia Germanypratyce ma. Ktt xptlorrt 



023St 



3I.IS0 



23.S76 



ZI039 



Fig. 422. 
The five countries having the greatest length of railways, 1898. 

though several small European countries have a greater 
development of railways in proportion to their area. 
The United States ranks second in provision for trayis- 
portation hy water (Fig. 423). State the rank of the five 



United Kingdom 



(In t tedStates nipfhpr. 

Lands cerm'y. NorwAy 




Fig. 423. 
The five countries having the largest merchant marine, 1898. 

chief countries in total length of railways, and in merchant 
marine. Give reasons why the United Kingdom should 
lead in merchant marine (p. 201). Why should Norway 
be of importance in this respect ? (p. 255). 



COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 



241 



All these facts prepare us for Figure 424, wliicli shows 
that the United States is the ivealtldest nation on the 



United states 



64000m.Ulion 

Dollar \ 




Gt. Britain 



47000 



France 



42 000 



Germany Russia 



3 2 GOO 



25000 



Fig. 424. 
The five wealthiest nations, 1888. 

face of the earth. Compare our wealth with that of other 
leading countries. In how many and what respects have 
our products and industries been shown to lead all nations 
of the world ? 

Dependence upon Other Nations. — All together the United 
States may be considered a wonderfully favored and inde- 
pendent nation, since it has such a wealth of raw products, 
and such an extensive development of manufacturing. 
We could, probably, better than any other nation, depend 
upon ourselves alone for all that we need, if occasion 
should arise. Yet so closely related are the nations of the 
world that if war arises between two of them, our indus- 
tries and markets are affected. This is due largely to 
the fact that we produce far more than we need of certain 
commodities, as wheat, cotton, meat, and iron, for which a 
market must be found abroad. These we export. But it 
is also due to the fact that we are partly, or wholly, 
dependent upon foreign countries for certain other arti- 
cles. These we import. 

For example, Figure 425 shows that coffee is not grown 
within our states, although it is daily consumed in almost 



242 



COMPAlilSON OF COUNTRIES 




1. Brazil. 

2. Venezuela. 
■0- 3. Javn. 

4. Guatemala. 

5. Haiti.. 



FIG. 425. 
Approximate distribution of coffee. 

every household. Notice, however, that it is produced in 
Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippine Islands (Fig. 425). 

To what climate and 

Vervexueia ^.800 Countries is it confined ? 

^ava, ^s;otA State the rank of the 

Yerx^^lQu^uauiatti principal coffee-produc- 

ing sections and com- 



Brazll 




Giuuenuiki33,330 pare their output (Fig. 

Ham ^afiso 426). 

Fig. 426. Note the heet sugar 

The five leading coffee-producing sections, and cane SUgar areas 

^^^^- (Fig. 427). Also the 




Fig. 427. 
Distribution of sugar cane and beet sugar. 



COMPARISON OF COUNTlilES 



24?, 



rank of the leading countries which niaiinfacturc! cane 
sugar (Fig. 428). Our own states produce far less sugar 



Cuba 



632.431 -^ 

^. „ Tom ,/ti^ 



4 



Java 



^46, raO 



United Sts „^,„^ a 



353,976 



264,379 



Phil. Is. 



217,000 



Fig. 428. 
The five countries producing most cane sugar, 1898. 

each year than we consume. Of what importance, there- 
fore, in this respect is our newly established relation to 
Cuba and the Hawaiian and Philippine Islands ? 

Figure 429 represents us as depending wholly on foreign 
nations for raw ailk. Name the chief silk-producing coun- 




FiG. 429. 
Approximate distribution of raw silk production. 

tries; also compare their output (Fig. 430). Our tea also 
comes almost entirel}^ from abroad (Fig. 431). From what 
region mainly ? And while mucli rice is produced in our 
Southern States (Fig. 432), a large amount has to be 



244 



COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 



imported. From what sources must it be obtained ? We 
have, tlierefore, a very extensive trade in imports a,s well 
as in exports. 



Cfxttxa 



Japan, 



Frartce 




intuev-eei^ao 



Fig. 430, 
The five leading raw silk-producing countries, 1899. 




F:g. 431. 
Approximate distribution of tea. 




Fig. 432. 
Approximate distribution of rice. 



COMPARISOA' OF COUNTRIES 



245 



Exports and Imports. — Our ten leading exports, named 
in order of value, together with the principal countries to 
which the goods are sent, are as follows : — 



Articles 



Value in 1900 



Principal Countries to which they 
are sent 



1. Cotton (mainly unmanu- 

factured) 

2. Breadstuffs (wheat, corn, 

Hour, etc.) 

3. Meat and dairy products 

4. Iron and steel, and manu- 

factures of 

5. Mineral oils 

6. Copper (mainly manufac- 

tures of) 

7. Wood, and manufactures 

of 

8. Animals (mainly cattle) 

9. Tobacco 



Gt. Britain, Germany, France, 
$2t)5,836,000 Japau. 

Gt. Britain, Germany, Nether- 
262,744,000 lands, Belgium. 
184,453,000 Gt. Britain, Germany, France, 
Belgium. 
Gt. Britain, Canada, Germany, 
121,914,000 Mexico. 
75,612,000 Gt. Britain, Germany, Nether- 
lands, Belgium. 
Gt. Britain, Netherlands, 
57,853,000 France, Germany. 

Gt. Britain, Canada, Germany, 
.50,598,000 W. Indies. 
43,585,000 Gt. Britain. 
35,433,000 Gt. Britain, Germany, Italy, 
France. 

10. Leather, and manufac- Gt. Britain, Australasia, Can- 

tures of 27,293,000 ada. 

Total value of exports $1,394,484,000 

The ten leading imports, on the other hand, are as 
follows : — 

Value in 1900 



Articles 
Sugar and molasses 

Silk, and manufactures of 
Hides and skins 

Fibre, and manufactures 

of 
Chemicals, drugs, etc. 

Coffee 



Cotton (mainly manufac- 
tures of) 

8. Wool, and manufactures 

of 

9. Rubber and rubber goods 
10. Fruits and nuts 



Principal Countries from which 
they come 

$101,141,000 E. Ind., Hawaiian Isds., Cuba, 
Germany (beet sugar). 
76,224,000 Japan, France, China, Italy. 
57,936,000 E. Indies, S. America, Gt. 
Britain, France. 

57,933,000 Mexico, Philippines, E. Indies. 

53,705,000 Germany, E. Indies, Gt. Brit- 
ain. 

52,468,000 Brazil, Cent. America, E. In- 
dies, Mexico. 
Gt. Britain, Germany, Switzer- 

49,.'J02,000 land, France. 

Gt. Britain, Germany, France, 

.36.425,000 S. America. 

.^3,860,000 Brazil, Gt. Britain. 

19,264,000 Italy, Cent. America. W. In- 
dies. 



Total value of imports $849,941 ,000 
In Figure 433 trace the main steamship lines of the world 
by which these goods are carried. Compare the value 



246 



COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 



and nature of our exports and imports. How is the result 



encouraging 



More than one-third of all our foreign trade is with the 
British Isles, the ten leading countries ranking as follows : — 
The Leading Ten Countries with which the U.S. Trades 



Countries 

1. British Isles 

2. Germany 

3. France 

4. Canada 

6. Netherlands 

6. West Indies 

7. East Indies 

8. Brazil 

9. Mexico 

10. Japan 



Exp. ^ 

Imp. 

Total 

fExp. 

•{ Imp. 

I, Total 

f Exp. 

\ Imp. 

t Total 

fExp. 



Imp. 



t Total 
Exp. 

Imp. 

Total 

Exp. 

Imp. 

Total 
fExp. 
-i Imp. 
[ Total 

Exp. 

Imp. 

Total 

Exp. 

Imp. 

Total 

Exp. 

Imp. 
Total 



Value in 1900 

$ 533,820,000 
159,582,000 
693,402,000 
187,348,000 

97,375,000 
284,723,000 

83,335,000 

73,012,000 
156,347,000 

97,337,000 

39,932,000 
137,269,000 
89,387,000 

15,853,000 
105,240,000 
48,561,000 
52,562,000 
101,123,000 
6,634,000 
73,243,000 
79,877,000 
11,578,000 
58,073,000 
69,651,000 
34,976,000 
28,646,000 
63,621,000 
29,087,000 

32,749,000 
61,836,000 



Kinds of Goods 

Provisions, breadstuffs, raw cotton. 

Cotton goods, raw wool, tin, jewellery, 
rubber goods. 

Raw cotton, breadstuffs, provisions. 

Beet sugar, chemicals and drugs, cot- 
ton goods, silk goods. 

Raw cotton, copper, mineral oil. 

Silk goods, hides, jewellery, cotton 
goods. 

Coal, breadstuffs, cotton and manu- 
factures of. 

Lumber, coal, hides. 

Breadstuffs, provisions, copper, min- 
eral oil. 
Jewellery, tin. 

Provisions, breadstuffs, animals. 
Sugar, fruits, cocoa. 

Mineral oil, cotton goods. 
Sugar, hides, tin. 

Breadstuffs, mineral oil, provisions. 
Coffee, rubber, sugar. 

Coal, cotton goods, iron and steel 

manufactures. 
Sisal grass, coffee, lead, hides. 
Manufactured cotton, mineral oil, iron 

and steel manufactures. 
Silk, tea. 



ISTame some of the countries which probably have the same 
exports as the United States, and which are, therefore, likely 
to be active rivals to us in supplying foreign markets. 

Owing to our trade relations with the United Kingdom, 
what hardships would probably be brought upon the British 
if they entered upon a war with as ? How might the Germans 



248 COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 

suffer if they were at war with us ? How might the French 
suffer ? On the other hand, what hardships would come to us 
in each case ? Are we more or less independent than these 
countries in case of such war ? Why ? 

Reasons for the Rank of the United States. — The pre- 
ceding figures and diagrams show that several European 
countries are the chief competitors with the United 
States in the world's trade. Give examples. But so far 
as the future is concerned, several important facts 
are in our favor. In the first place, we are still in our 
youth as a people, while some of the leading nations 
of Europe have perhaps already reached the zenith of 
their power. In the second place, the territory of most 
of those countries is densely populated, as shown in Fig- 
ure 403. Note the number of inhabitants per square mile 
in Belgium, Germany, and France. When we contrast with 
these figures our average of only twenty persons per square 
mile, the possibility of our future growth seems almost 
without limit. Immense tracts of land, which in Europe 
would be carefully tilled, are in our country not even 
cleared for pasture ; and in no large section of the United 
States do we even approach the careful hand tillage of 
Belgium and some other European countries. 

Another point in our favor is the varied climate and 
physiography of our vast country, encouraging varied prod- 
ucts. Almost all farm products can be raised with little 
care in our rich soil and favorable climate. Add to this 
the wonderful mineral resources, which are apparently not 
equalled on any continent, and it will be seen that our 
natural resources, which have made present development 
possible, promise equally for the future. 

Our people are another element to be considered in 



COMPARISON OF COUNTRIES 249 

reckoning past success and future promise. They have 
consisted, in large part, of those who had energy and 
ambition enough to migrate to a new land in the hope 
of bettering their condition. In their new home the 
possibilities have been so great that they have been en- 
couraged to work and to improve themselves. As the 
environment of the desert has given rise to the nomad, 
and the ease of life in the tropical forest to the degenerate 
savage, so the environment in the United States has 
given rise to a race noted for its energy and enterprise. 
This race has been possible, however, largely by reason of 
the fact that it comes from a mixture of peoples already 
gifted. That resources alone will not make an energetic 
people and a great nation is well illustrated in China, 
where nature favors, but racial characteristics and customs 
are opposed to development. 

Nor would the statement of reasons for the present 
position of the United States and her future prospects 
be complete if left here. There are two other elements 
of high importance ; namely, education and government. 
Where people are hampered by ignorance, petty restric- 
tions, and heavy taxes, unnecessarily imposed upon them 
by their rulers, they have little opportunity for progress. 
It is those European countries in which there are the best 
opportunities for education and the greatest freedom, that 
have made the greatest progress. And no nation in the 
world pays more attention to education, or guarantees its 
people a more active part in their entire government, than 
the United States. 



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